Semiconductor device

ABSTRACT

Provided is a semiconductor device in which deterioration of electric characteristics which becomes more noticeable as the semiconductor device is miniaturized can be suppressed. The semiconductor device includes a first oxide film, an oxide semiconductor film over the first oxide film, a source electrode and a drain electrode in contact with the oxide semiconductor film, a second oxide film over the oxide semiconductor film, the source electrode, and the drain electrode, a gate insulating film over the second oxide film, and a gate electrode in contact with the gate insulating film. A top end portion of the oxide semiconductor film is curved when seen in a channel width direction.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device.

In this specification, a “semiconductor device” refers to a device thatcan function by utilizing semiconductor characteristics; anelectro-optical device, a semiconductor circuit, and an electronicdevice are all included in the category of the semiconductor device.

BACKGROUND ART

Attention has been focused on a technique for forming a transistor usinga semiconductor thin film formed over a substrate having an insulatingsurface. The transistor is used in a wide range of electronic devicessuch as an integrated circuit (IC) and an image display device (displaydevice). A silicon-based semiconductor material is widely known as amaterial for a semiconductor thin film applicable to a transistor. Asanother example, an oxide semiconductor has been attracting attention.

For example, a transistor whose active layer includes an amorphous oxidesemiconductor containing indium (In), gallium (Ga), and zinc (Zn) isdisclosed in Patent Document 1.

Techniques for improving carrier mobility by stacking oxidesemiconductor films are disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3.

REFERENCE Patent Document

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Published Patent Application No.2006-165528

[Patent Document 2] Japanese Published Patent Application No.2011-124360

[Patent Document 3] Japanese Published Patent Application No.2011-138934

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

In general, high integration of a circuit requires miniaturization of atransistor. However, it is known that miniaturization of a transistorcauses deterioration of electric characteristics, such as on-statecurrent, threshold voltage, and an S value (subthreshold value), of thetransistor.

For example, it is known that shortening the channel length in atransistor using silicon causes a short-channel effect such as anincrease in subthreshold swing (S value) or a shift of threshold voltageto the negative side.

In contrast, a transistor using an oxide semiconductor is anaccumulation-type transistor (a transistor in which a channel is formedin an accumulation layer) in which electrons are majority carriers, anddrain-induced barrier lowering (DIBL) is less likely to occur in ashort-channel transistor using an oxide semiconductor than in ashort-channel inversion-type transistor (a transistor in which a channelis formed in an inversion layer) using silicon. In other words, thetransistor using an oxide semiconductor has resistance to ashort-channel effect.

It is concerned that on-state current is decreased by shortening thechannel width of a transistor. As a technique for improving on-statecurrent, known is a technique in which a thick active layer is formed sothat a channel is formed also on a side surface of the active layer. Inthat case, however, a surface area where a channel is formed isincreased, which increases carriers scattering at an interface between achannel formation region and a gate insulating film; thus, achievingsufficiently high on-state current is not easy.

One object of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide asemiconductor device in which deterioration of electric characteristicswhich becomes more noticeable as the semiconductor device isminiaturized can be suppressed. Another object is to provide asemiconductor device having a high degree of integration. Another objectis to provide a semiconductor device in which deterioration of on-statecurrent characteristics is reduced. Another object is to provide asemiconductor device with low power consumption. Another object is toprovide a semiconductor device with high reliability. Another object isto provide a semiconductor device which can retain data even when powersupply is stopped. Another object is to provide a novel semiconductordevice.

Note that the descriptions of these objects do not disturb the existenceof other objects. Note that in one embodiment of the present invention,there is no need to achieve all the objects. Other objects are apparentfrom and can be derived from the description of the specification, thedrawings, the claims, and the like.

One embodiment of the present invention relates to a semiconductordevice including stacked oxide semiconductor films.

One embodiment of the present invention is a semiconductor deviceincluding a first oxide film, an oxide semiconductor film over the firstoxide film, a source electrode and a drain electrode in contact with theoxide semiconductor film, a second oxide film over the oxidesemiconductor film, the source electrode, and the drain electrode, agate insulating film over the second oxide film, and a gate electrode incontact with the gate insulating film. A top end portion of the oxidesemiconductor film is curved when seen in a channel width direction.

Note that in this specification and the like, ordinal numbers such as“first” and “second” are used in order to avoid confusion amongcomponents and do not limit the components numerically.

In the above structure, a top surface of the oxide semiconductor filmmay have a flat portion.

In the above structure, a curvature radius r of an end portion (in thecase of two end portions, each of curvature radiuses r₁ and r₂) of theoxide semiconductor film when seen in the channel width direction isgreater than 0 and less than or equal to a half of a channel width W(0<r (or r₁ or r₂)≤W/2).

In the above structure, a top end portion of the second oxide film maybe aligned with a bottom end portion of the gate insulating film, and atop end portion of the gate insulating film may be aligned with a bottomend portion of the gate electrode.

In the above structure, conduction band minimum of each of the firstoxide film and the second oxide film is preferably closer to a vacuumlevel than conduction band minimum of the oxide semiconductor film by0.05 eV or more and 2 eV or less.

The above structure may include a barrier film covering and being incontact with the first oxide film, the oxide semiconductor film, thesource electrode, the drain electrode, the second oxide film, the gateinsulating film, and the gate electrode.

The above structure may include a first sidewall insulating film on sidesurfaces of the first oxide film, the oxide semiconductor film, thesource electrode, and the drain electrode, with the barrier filmpositioned between the first sidewall insulating film and the sidesurfaces.

The above structure may include a second sidewall insulating film onside surfaces of the second oxide film, the gate insulating film, andthe gate electrode, with the barrier film positioned between the secondsidewall insulating film and the side surfaces.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, any of thefollowing semiconductor devices can be provided: a semiconductor devicein which deterioration of electric characteristics which becomes morenoticeable as the semiconductor device is miniaturized can besuppressed, a semiconductor device having a high degree of integration,a semiconductor device in which deterioration of on-state currentcharacteristics is reduced, a semiconductor device with low powerconsumption, a semiconductor device with high reliability, asemiconductor device which can retain data even when power supply isstopped, and a novel semiconductor device. Note that the descriptions ofthese effects do not disturb the existence of other effects. In oneembodiment of the present invention, there is no need to obtain all theeffects. Other effects are apparent from and can be derived from thedescription of the specification, the drawings, the claims, and thelike.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A to 1C are a top view and cross-sectional views illustrating atransistor.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show band structures of multilayer films.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a transistor.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are each a cross-sectional view of a transistor in thechannel width direction.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are each a cross-sectional view of a transistor in thechannel width direction.

FIGS. 6A to 6C are a top view and cross-sectional views illustrating atransistor.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a transistor.

FIGS. 8A to 8C are cross-sectional views illustrating a method forfabricating a transistor.

FIGS. 9A to 9C are cross-sectional views illustrating the method forfabricating a transistor.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are cross sectional STEM images of a transistorfabricated in Example.

FIG. 11 shows measurement results of the electric characteristics of atransistor fabricated in Example.

FIG. 12 shows measurement results of the electric characteristics oftransistors fabricated in Example.

FIGS. 13A to 13C each show measurement results of the electriccharacteristics of a transistor fabricated in Example.

FIGS. 14A to 14C are a top view and cross-sectional views illustrating atransistor.

FIGS. 15A to 15C illustrate a method for fabricating a transistor.

FIGS. 16A to 16C illustrate the method for fabricating a transistor.

FIGS. 17A to 17C illustrate the method for fabricating a transistor.

FIGS. 18A to 18C each illustrate a method for fabricating a transistor.

FIGS. 19A to 19D each illustrate an inverter including a semiconductordevice of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a circuit diagram of a semiconductor device of one embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram of a semiconductor device of one embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a circuit diagram illustrating a memory device of oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 23A to 23C each illustrate an electronic appliance of oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is an equivalent circuit diagram illustrating an example of asemiconductor device.

FIGS. 25A and 25B are each a cross-sectional view of a transistor in thechannel width direction.

FIG. 26 is a cross-sectional view of a transistor in the channel lengthdirection.

FIG. 27 shows I_(d)-V_(g) characteristics of transistors.

FIG. 28 shows I_(d)-V_(g) characteristics of transistors.

FIG. 29 shows I_(d)-V_(g) characteristics of a transistor.

FIG. 30 shows temperature dependence of a transistor.

FIG. 31 shows temperature dependence of a transistor.

FIGS. 32A and 32B each show the reliability of a transistor.

FIG. 33 shows the reliability of a transistor.

FIGS. 34A to 34D each show electric characteristics of transistors.

FIGS. 35A and 35B each show electric characteristics of transistors.

FIG. 36 is a schematic structural view of a transistor.

FIGS. 37A and 37B each show a nanobeam electron diffraction pattern ofan oxide semiconductor film.

FIGS. 38A and 38B illustrate an example of a transmission electrondiffraction measurement apparatus.

FIG. 39 illustrates an example of a structure analysis by transmissionelectron diffraction measurement.

FIGS. 40A to 40C each show temperature dependence of a transistor.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiments are described in detail with reference to the drawings. Notethat the present invention is not limited to the following descriptionand it is readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that modes anddetails can be modified in various ways without departing from thespirit and the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the presentinvention should not be limited to the descriptions of the embodimentsbelow. Note that in structures of the present invention described below,the same portions or portions having similar functions are denoted bythe same reference numerals in different drawings, and descriptionthereof is omitted in some cases.

Embodiment 1

In this embodiment, a semiconductor device of one embodiment of thepresent invention is described with reference to drawings.

FIGS. 1A to 1C are a top view and cross-sectional views which illustratea transistor of one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A is thetop view. FIG. 1B illustrates a cross section taken along thedashed-dotted line A-B in FIG. 1A. FIG. 1C illustrates a cross sectiontaken along the dashed-dotted line C-D in FIG. 1A. Note that forsimplification of the drawing, some components are not illustrated inthe top view in FIG. 1A. In some cases, the direction of thedashed-dotted line A-B is referred to as a channel length direction, andthe direction of the dashed-dotted line C-D is referred to as a channelwidth direction. Note that the channel length is a length of a channelformation region in the direction in which carriers flow. The channelwidth is a length of the channel formation region, which isperpendicular to the channel length direction.

A transistor 450 illustrated in FIGS. 1A to 1C includes a baseinsulating film 402 over a substrate 400; a first oxide film 404 a andan oxide semiconductor film 404 b over the base insulating film 402; asource electrode 406 a and a drain electrode 406 b over the first oxidefilm 404 a and the oxide semiconductor film 404 b; a second oxide film404 c over the oxide semiconductor film 404 b, the source electrode 406a, and the drain electrode 406 b; a gate insulating film 408 over thesecond oxide film 404 c; a gate electrode 410 over the gate insulatingfilm 408; and an oxide insulating film 412 over the source electrode 406a, the drain electrode 406 b, and the gate electrode 410. The firstoxide film 404 a, the oxide semiconductor film 404 b, and the secondoxide film 404 c are collectively referred to as a multilayer film 404.

When the channel length and the channel width of a transistor areshortened, an electrode, a semiconductor film, or the like which isprocessed using a resist mask has a round end portion (curved surface)in some cases. A top end portion of the oxide semiconductor film 404 bin this embodiment is round and has a semicircle shape when seen incross section. With this structure, the coverage with the gateinsulating film 408, the gate electrode 410, and the oxide insulatingfilm 412, which are to be formed over the oxide semiconductor film 404b, can be improved. In addition, electric field concentration whichmight occur at end portions of the source electrode 406 a and the drainelectrode 406 b can be reduced, which can suppress deterioration of thetransistor.

The oxide semiconductor film 404 b has a curvature of an osculatingcircle whose radius of curvature is r. Note that the radius of curvatureis equal to the radius of an osculating circle of a curve. The oxidesemiconductor film 404 b may have two or more portions with curvaturesof different osculating circles.

Specifically, in the oxide semiconductor film 404 b illustrated in FIGS.1A to 1C, a curvature radius r₁ of a top end portion seen in the channelwidth direction is preferably greater than 0 and less than or equal to ahalf of the channel width W; similarly, a curvature radius r₂ of a topend portion seen in the channel width direction (the top end portionwith the curvature radius r₂ is apart from the top end portion with thecurvature radius r₁ by the channel width W) is preferably greater than 0and less than or equal to a half of the channel width W (0<r₁, r₂≤W/2).In the case where a top surface of the oxide semiconductor film 404 bdoes not have a flat portion when seen in the channel width direction asillustrated in FIG. 6C, a curvature radius r₃ of a top end portion ispreferably greater than 0 and less than or equal to a half of thechannel width W (0<r₃≤W/2).

Note that functions of a “source” and a “drain” of a transistor aresometimes replaced with each other when a transistor of oppositepolarity is used or when the direction of current flowing is changed incircuit operation, for example. Thus, the terms “source” and “drain” canbe used to denote the drain and the source, respectively, in thisspecification.

The substrate 400 is not limited to a simple supporting substrate, andmay be a substrate where another device such as a transistor is formed.In that case, at least one of the gate electrode 410, the sourceelectrode 406 a, and the drain electrode 406 b of the transistor 450 maybe electrically connected to the above device.

The base insulating film 402 can have a function of supplying oxygen tothe multilayer film 404 as well as a function of preventing diffusion ofimpurities from the substrate 400. For this reason, the base insulatingfilm 402 is preferably an insulating film containing oxygen and morepreferably, the base insulating film 402 is an insulating filmcontaining oxygen in which the oxygen content is higher than that in thestoichiometric composition. In the case where the substrate 400 isprovided with another device as described above, the base insulatingfilm 402 also has a function as an interlayer insulating film. In thatcase, since the base insulating film 402 has an uneven surface, the baseinsulating film 402 is preferably subjected to planarization treatmentsuch as chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) treatment so as to have aflat surface.

An aluminum oxide film that can supply oxygen is preferably used for thebase insulating film 402. The aluminum oxide film has not only afunction of supplying oxygen but also a function of blocking hydrogen,water, and oxygen. An aluminum oxide film containing silicon oxide,which is formed using a target in which an aluminum oxide and siliconoxide are mixed, can be used. In that case, the content of silicon oxideis preferably greater than or equal to 0.1 wt % and less than or equalto 30 wt %.

The multilayer film 404 in the channel formation region of thetransistor 450 has a structure in which the first oxide film 404 a, theoxide semiconductor film 404 b, and the second oxide film 404 c arestacked in this order from the substrate 400 side. The oxidesemiconductor film 404 b is surrounded by the first oxide film 404 a andthe second oxide film 404 c. As in FIG. 1C, the gate electrode 410electrically covers the oxide semiconductor film 404 b when seen in thechannel width direction.

Here, for the oxide semiconductor film 404 b, for example, an oxidesemiconductor whose electron affinity (an energy difference between avacuum level and the conduction band minimum) is higher than those ofthe first oxide film 404 a and the second oxide film 404 c is used. Theelectron affinity can be obtained by subtracting an energy differencebetween the conduction band minimum and the valence band maximum (whatis called an energy gap) from an energy difference between the vacuumlevel and the valence band maximum (what is called an ionizationpotential).

The first oxide film 404 a and the second oxide film 404 c each containone or more kinds of metal elements forming the oxide semiconductor film404 b. For example, the first oxide film 404 a and the second oxide film404 c are preferably formed using an oxide semiconductor whoseconduction band minimum is closer to a vacuum level than that of theoxide semiconductor film 404 b. Further, the energy difference of theconduction band minimum between the oxide semiconductor film 404 b andthe first oxide film 404 a and the energy difference of the conductionband minimum between the oxide semiconductor film 404 b and the secondoxide film 404 c are each preferably greater than or equal to 0.05 eV,0.07 eV, 0.1 eV, or 0.15 eV and smaller than or equal to 2 eV, 1 eV, 0.5eV, or 0.4 eV.

In such a structure, when an electric field is applied to the gateelectrode 410, a channel is formed in the oxide semiconductor film 404 bwhose conduction band minimum is the lowest in the multilayer film 404.In other words, the second oxide film 404 c is formed between the oxidesemiconductor film 404 b and the gate insulating film 408, whereby astructure in which the channel of the transistor is not in contact withthe gate insulating film 408 is obtained.

Further, since the first oxide film 404 a contains one or more metalelements contained in the oxide semiconductor film 404 b, an interfacestate is less likely to be formed at the interface of the oxidesemiconductor film 404 b with the first oxide film 404 a than at theinterface with the base insulating film 402 on the assumption that theoxide semiconductor film 404 b is in contact with the base insulatingfilm 402. The interface state sometimes forms a channel, leading to achange in the threshold voltage of the transistor. Thus, with the firstoxide film 404 a, variation in the electrical characteristics of thetransistor, such as a threshold voltage, can be reduced. Further, thereliability of the transistor can be improved.

Furthermore, since the second oxide film 404 c contains one or moremetal elements contained in the oxide semiconductor film 404 b,scattering of carriers is less likely to occur at the interface of theoxide semiconductor film 404 b with the second oxide film 404 c than atthe interface with the gate insulating film 408 on the assumption thatthe oxide semiconductor film 404 b is in contact with the gateinsulating film 408. Thus, with the second oxide film 404 c, thefield-effect mobility of the transistor can be increased.

For the first oxide film 404 a and the second oxide film 404 c, forexample, a material containing Al, Ti, Ga, Ge, Y, Zr, Sn, La, Ce, or Hfwith a higher atomic ratio than that used for the oxide semiconductorfilm 404 b can be used. Specifically, an atomic ratio of any of theabove metal elements in the first oxide film 404 a and the second oxidefilm 404 c is 1.5 times or more, preferably 2 times or more, furtherpreferably 3 times or more as much as that in the oxide semiconductorfilm 404 b. Any of the above metal elements is strongly bonded to oxygenand thus has a function of suppressing generation of an oxygen vacancyin the first oxide film 404 a and the second oxide film 404 c. That is,an oxygen vacancy is less likely to be generated in the first oxide film404 a and the second oxide film 404 c than in the oxide semiconductorfilm 404 b.

Note that when each of the first oxide film 404 a, the oxidesemiconductor film 404 b, and the second oxide film 404 c is an In-M-Znoxide containing at least indium, zinc, and M (M is a metal such as Al,Ti, Ga, Ge, Y, Zr, Sn, La, Ce, or Hf), and the first oxide film 404 ahas an atomic ratio of In to M and Zn which is x₁:y₁:z₁, the oxidesemiconductor film 404 b has an atomic ratio of In to M and Zn which isx₂:y₂:z₂, and the second oxide film 404 c has an atomic ratio of In to Mand Zn which is x₃:y₃:z₃, each of y₁/x₁ and y₃/x₃ is preferably largerthan y₂/x₂. Each of y₁/x₁ and y₃/x₃ is 1.5 times or more, preferably 2times or more, further preferably 3 times or more as large as y₂/x₂. Atthis time, when y₂ is greater than or equal to x₂ in the oxidesemiconductor film 404 b, the transistor can have stable electricalcharacteristics. However, when y₂ is 3 times or more as large as x₂, thefield-effect mobility of the transistor is reduced; accordingly, y₂ ispreferably less than 3 times x₂.

In the case where Zn and O are not taken into consideration, theproportion of In and the proportion of M in the first oxide film 404 aand the second oxide film 404 c are preferably less than 50 atomic % andgreater than or equal to 50 atomic %, respectively, and furtherpreferably greater than or equal to 34 atomic % and less than 66 atomic%, respectively.

The thicknesses of the first oxide film 404 a and the second oxide film404 c are each greater than or equal to 3 nm and less than or equal to100 nm, preferably greater than or equal to 3 nm and less than or equalto 50 nm. The thickness of the oxide semiconductor film 404 b is greaterthan or equal to 3 nm and less than or equal to 200 nm, preferablygreater than or equal to 3 nm and less than or equal to 100 nm, furtherpreferably greater than or equal to 3 nm and less than or equal to 50nm.

For the first oxide film 404 a, the oxide semiconductor film 404 b, andthe second oxide film 404 c, an oxide semiconductor containing indium,zinc, and gallium can be used, for example. Note that the oxidesemiconductor film 404 b preferably contains indium because carriermobility can be increased.

Note that stable electrical characteristics can be effectively impartedto a transistor in which an oxide semiconductor film serves as a channelby reducing the concentration of impurities in the oxide semiconductorfilm to make the oxide semiconductor film intrinsic or substantiallyintrinsic. The term “substantially intrinsic” refers to the state wherean oxide semiconductor film has a carrier density lower than 1×10¹⁷/cm³,preferably lower than 1×10¹⁵/cm³, further preferably lower than1×10¹³/cm³.

Some of hydrogen atoms contained in the oxide semiconductor film aretrapped by oxygen vacancies, which makes the oxide semiconductor filmhave n-type conductivity. Accordingly, the Fermi level (E_(f)) is closerto the bottom of a conduction band (E_(c)) in an oxide semiconductorfilm containing a large amount of hydrogen than the Fermi level (E_(f))in a highly purified intrinsic oxide semiconductor film is; therefore,an improvement in field-effect mobility of a transistor is expected.When an oxide semiconductor film is made to be intrinsic orsubstantially intrinsic, the Fermi energy of the oxide semiconductorfilm becomes the same or substantially same as the mid gap (the middleenergy of the energy gap of the oxide semiconductor film). In that case,it is concerned that the field-effect mobility is decreased because of areduction in the number of carriers in the oxide semiconductor film.

However, in the transistor of one embodiment of the present invention, agate electric field is applied to the oxide semiconductor film not onlyin the vertical direction but also in the side surface directions. Thatis, the gate electric field is applied to the whole oxide semiconductorfilm, so that current flows in the whole oxide semiconductor film. Thus,variations in electric characteristics due to a highly purifiedintrinsic oxide semiconductor film can be suppressed and thefield-effect mobility of a transistor can be increased.

In the oxide semiconductor film, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, silicon,and a metal element other than main components of the oxidesemiconductor film are impurities. For example, hydrogen and nitrogenform donor levels to increase the carrier density. In addition, siliconin the oxide semiconductor film forms an impurity level. The impuritylevel might become a trap, which deteriorates the electriccharacteristics of the transistor. Accordingly, in the first oxide film404 a, the oxide semiconductor film 404 b, and the second oxide film 404c and at interfaces between these films, the impurity concentration ispreferably reduced.

In order to make the oxide semiconductor film intrinsic or substantiallyintrinsic, in SIMS (secondary ion mass spectrometry), for example, theconcentration of silicon at a certain depth of the oxide semiconductorfilm or in a region of the oxide semiconductor film is preferably lowerthan 1×10¹⁹ atoms/cm³, more preferably lower than 5×10¹⁸ atoms/cm³,still more preferably lower than 1×10¹⁸ atoms/cm³. Further, theconcentration of hydrogen at a certain depth of the oxide semiconductorfilm or in a region of the oxide semiconductor film is preferably lowerthan or equal to 2×10²⁰ atoms/cm³, more preferably lower than or equalto 5×10¹⁹ atoms/cm³, still more preferably lower than or equal to 1×10¹⁹atoms/cm³, yet still more preferably lower than or equal to 5×10¹⁸atoms/cm³. Further, the concentration of nitrogen at a certain depth ofthe oxide semiconductor film or in a region of the oxide semiconductorfilm is preferably lower than 5×10¹⁹ atoms/cm³, more preferably lowerthan or equal to 5×10¹⁸ atoms/cm³, still more preferably lower than orequal to 1×10¹⁸ atoms/cm³, yet still more preferably lower than or equalto 5×10¹⁷ atoms/cm³.

In the case where the oxide semiconductor film includes crystals, highconcentration of silicon or carbon might reduce the crystallinity of theoxide semiconductor film. In order not to lower the crystallinity of theoxide semiconductor film, for example, the concentration of silicon at acertain depth of the oxide semiconductor film or in a region of theoxide semiconductor film may be lower than 1×10¹⁹ atoms/cm³, preferablylower than 5×10¹⁸ atoms/cm³, more preferably lower than 1×10¹⁸atoms/cm³. Further, the concentration of carbon at a certain depth ofthe oxide semiconductor film or in a region of the oxide semiconductorfilm may be lower than 1×10¹⁹ atoms/cm³, preferably lower than 5×10¹⁸atoms/cm³, more preferably lower than 1×10¹⁸ atoms/cm³, for example.

A transistor in which the above-described highly purified oxidesemiconductor film is used for a channel formation region has anextremely low off-state current. In the case where the voltage between asource and a drain is set to about 0.1 V, 5 V, or 10 V, for example, theoff-state current standardized on the channel width of the transistorcan be as low as several yoctoamperes per micrometer to severalzeptoamperes per micrometer.

Note that as the gate insulating film of the transistor, an insulatingfilm containing silicon is used in many cases; thus, it is preferablethat, as in the transistor of one embodiment of the present invention, aregion of the multilayer film, which serves as a channel, be not incontact with the gate insulating film for the above-described reason. Inthe case where a channel is formed at the interface between the gateinsulating film and the multilayer film, scattering of carriers occursat the interface, whereby the field-effect mobility of the transistor isreduced in some cases. Also from the view of the above, it is preferablethat the region of the multilayer film, which serves as a channel, beseparated from the gate insulating film.

Accordingly, with the multilayer film 404 having a stacked structureincluding the first oxide film 404 a, the oxide semiconductor film 404b, and the second oxide film 404 c in this order, a channel can beformed in the oxide semiconductor film 404 b; thus, the transistor canhave a high field-effect mobility and stable electric characteristics.

Next, the band structure of the multilayer film 404 is described. Foranalyzing the band structure, a stacked film corresponding to themultilayer film 404 is formed. In the stacked film, In—Ga—Zn oxide withan energy gap of 3.5 eV is used for layers corresponding to the firstoxide film 404 a and the second oxide film 404 c, and In—Ga—Zn oxidewith an energy gap of 3.15 eV is used for a layer corresponding to theoxide semiconductor film 404 b.

The thickness of each of the first oxide film 404 a, the oxidesemiconductor film 404 b, and the second oxide film 404 c was 10 nm. Theenergy gap was measured with the use of a spectroscopic ellipsometer(UT-300 manufactured by HORIBA Jobin Yvon). Further, the energydifference between the vacuum level and the valence band maximum wasmeasured using an ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) device(VersaProbe, ULVAC-PHI, Inc.).

FIG. 2A is part of a schematic band structure showing an energydifference (electron affinity) between the vacuum level and theconduction band minimum of each layer, which is calculated bysubtracting the energy gap from the energy difference between the vacuumlevel and the valence band maximum. FIG. 2A is a band diagram showingthe case where silicon oxide films are provided in contact with thefirst oxide film 404 a and the second oxide film 404 c. Here, Evrepresents energy of the vacuum level, EcI1 and EcI2 each represent theconduction band minimum of the silicon oxide film, EcS1 represents theconduction band minimum of the first oxide film 404 a, EcS2 representsthe conduction band minimum of the oxide semiconductor film 404 b, andEcS3 represents the conduction band minimum of the second oxide film 404c.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the conduction band minimums of the first oxidefilm 404 a, the oxide semiconductor film 404 b, and the second oxidefilm 404 c successively vary. This can be understood also from the factthat the compositions of the first oxide film 404 a, the oxidesemiconductor film 404 b, and the second oxide film 404 c are close toone another and oxygen is easily diffused among the first oxide film 404a, the oxide semiconductor film 404 b, and the second oxide film 404 c.Thus, the first oxide film 404 a, the oxide semiconductor film 404 b,and the second oxide film 404 c have a continuous physical propertyalthough they have different compositions and form a stack. In thedrawings, interfaces between the oxide semiconductor layers of the stackare indicated by dotted lines.

The multilayer film 404 in which layers containing the same maincomponents are stacked is formed to have not only a simple stacked-layerstructure of the layers but also a continuous energy band (here, inparticular, a well structure having a U shape in which the conductionband minimums successively varies between layers). In other words, thestacked-layer structure is formed such that there exist no impuritieswhich form a defect level such as a trap center or a recombinationcenter at each interface. If impurities exist between the stacked layersin the multilayer film, the continuity of the energy band is lost andcarriers disappear by a trap or recombination.

Note that FIG. 2A shows the case where EcS1 and EcS3 are similar to eachother; however, EcS1 and EcS3 may be different from each other. Forexample, part of the band structure in the case where EcS1 is higherthan EcS3 is shown as in FIG. 2B.

For example, when EcS1 is equal to EcS3, an In—Ga—Zn oxide whose atomicratio of In to Ga and Zn is 1:3:2, 1:3:3, 1:3:4, 1:3:6, 1:4:5, 1:6:4, or1:9:6 can be used for the first oxide film 404 a and the second oxidefilm 404 c and an In—Ga—Zn oxide whose atomic ratio of In to Ga and Znis 1:1:1 or 3:1:2 can be used for the oxide semiconductor film 404 b.Further, when EcS1 is higher than EcS3, an In—Ga—Zn oxide whose atomicratio of In to Ga and Zn is 1:6:4 or 1:9:6 can be used for the firstoxide film 404 a, an In—Ga—Zn oxide whose atomic ratio of In to Ga andZn is 1:1:1, 1:1:1.2, 1:1:1.5, or 3:1:2 can be used for the oxidesemiconductor film 404 b, and an In—Ga—Zn oxide whose atomic ratio of Into Ga and Zn is 1:3:2, 1:3:3, or 1:3:4 can be used for the second oxidefilm 404 c, for example.

According to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the oxide semiconductor film 404 b of themultilayer film 404 serves as a well, so that a channel is formed in theoxide semiconductor film 404 b in a transistor including the multilayerfilm 404. Note that since the conduction band minimum successivelyvaries, the multilayer film 404 can also be referred to as a U-shapedwell. Further, a channel formed to have such a structure can also bereferred to as a buried channel.

Note that trap levels due to impurities or defects might be formed inthe vicinity of the interface between an insulating film such as asilicon oxide film and each of the first oxide film 404 a and the secondoxide film 404 c. The oxide semiconductor film 404 b can be distancedaway from the trap levels owing to existence of the first oxide film 404a and the second oxide film 404 c. However, when the energy differencesbetween EcS2 and EcS1 and EcS2 and EcS3 are small, an electron in theoxide semiconductor film 404 b might reach the trap level by passingover the energy differences. When the electron is trapped in the traplevel, a negative fixed charge is generated at the interface with theinsulating film, whereby the threshold voltage of the transistor isshifted in the positive direction.

Thus, to reduce fluctuations in the threshold voltage of the transistor,energy differences of at least certain values between EcS2 and EcS1 andbetween EcS2 and EcS3 are necessary. Each of the energy differences ispreferably greater than or equal to 0.1 eV, further preferably greaterthan or equal to 0.15 eV.

The first oxide film 404 a, the oxide semiconductor film 404 b, and thesecond oxide film 404 c preferably include crystal parts. In particular,when crystals in which c-axes are aligned is used, the transistor canhave stable electric characteristics.

In the case where an In—Ga—Zn oxide is used for the multilayer film 404,it is preferable that the second oxide film 404 c contain less In thanthe oxide semiconductor film 404 b so that diffusion of In to the gateinsulating film is prevented.

For the source electrode 406 a and the drain electrode 406 b, aconductive material which is easily bonded to oxygen is preferably used.For example, Al, Cr, Cu, Ta, Ti, Mo, or W can be used. Among thematerials, in particular, it is preferable to use Ti which is easilybonded to oxygen or to use W with a high melting point, which allowssubsequent process temperatures to be relatively high. Note that theconductive material which is easily bonded to oxygen includes, in itscategory, a material to which oxygen is easily diffused.

When the conductive material which is easily bonded to oxygen is incontact with a multilayer film, a phenomenon occurs in which oxygen inthe multilayer film is diffused to the conductive material which iseasily bonded to oxygen. The phenomenon noticeably occurs when thetemperature is high. Since the fabricating process of the transistorinvolves some heat treatment steps, the above phenomenon causesgeneration of oxygen vacancies in the vicinity of a region which is inthe multilayer film and is in contact with the source electrode or thedrain electrode. The oxygen vacancies bond to hydrogen slightlycontained in the film, whereby the region is changed to an n-typeregion. Thus, the n-type region can serve as a source or a drain of thetransistor.

The n-type region is illustrated in an enlarged cross-sectional view ofthe transistor (a cross section in the channel length direction) in FIG.3. A boundary 435 indicated by a dotted line in the oxide semiconductorfilm 404 b is a boundary between an intrinsic semiconductor region andan n-type semiconductor region. In the oxide semiconductor film 404 b, aregion near the source electrode 406 a or the drain electrode 406 bbecomes an n-type region. The boundary 435 is schematically illustratedhere, but actually, the boundary is not clearly seen in some cases.Although FIG. 3 shows that the boundary 435 extends in the lateraldirection in the oxide semiconductor film 404 b, a region in the firstoxide film 404 a and the oxide semiconductor film 404 b, which issandwiched between the source electrode 406 a or the drain electrode 406b and the first oxide film 404 a, becomes n-type entirely in thethickness direction, in some cases. Furthermore, although not shown, ann-type region is formed in the first oxide film or the second oxide filmin some cases.

In the case of forming a transistor with an extremely short channellength, an n-type region which is formed by the generation of oxygenvacancies might extend in the channel length direction of thetransistor. In that case, the electrical characteristics of thetransistor change; for example, the threshold voltage is shifted, or onand off states of the transistor cannot be controlled with the gatevoltage (in which case the transistor is turned on). Accordingly, when atransistor with an extremely short channel length is formed, it is notalways preferable that a conductive material easily bonded to oxygen beused for a source electrode and a drain electrode.

In such a case, a conductive material which is less likely to be bondedto oxygen than the above material is preferably used for the sourceelectrode 406 a and the drain electrode 406 b. As the conductivematerial which is not easily bonded to oxygen, for example, a materialcontaining tantalum nitride, titanium nitride, or ruthenium or the likecan be used. Note that in the case where the conductive material is incontact with the oxide semiconductor film 404 b, the source electrode406 a and the drain electrode 406 b may each have a structure in whichthe conductive material which is not easily bonded to oxygen and theabove-described conductive material that is easily bonded to oxygen arestacked.

The gate insulating film 408 can be formed using an insulating filmcontaining one or more of aluminum oxide, magnesium oxide, siliconoxide, silicon oxynitride, silicon nitride oxide, silicon nitride,gallium oxide, germanium oxide, yttrium oxide, zirconium oxide,lanthanum oxide, neodymium oxide, hafnium oxide, and tantalum oxide. Thegate insulating film 408 may be a stack including any of the abovematerials.

For the gate electrode 410, a conductive film formed using Al, Ti, Cr,Co, Ni, Cu, Y, Zr, Mo, Ru, Ag, Ta, W, or the like can be used. The gateelectrode may be a stack including any of the above materials.Alternatively, a conductive film containing nitrogen may be used for thegate electrode 410.

The oxide insulating film 412 may be formed over the gate insulatingfilm 408 and the gate electrode 410. The oxide insulating film 412 canbe formed using an insulating film containing one or more of aluminumoxide, magnesium oxide, silicon oxide, silicon oxynitride, siliconnitride oxide, silicon nitride, gallium oxide, germanium oxide, yttriumoxide, zirconium oxide, lanthanum oxide, neodymium oxide, hafnium oxide,and tantalum oxide. The oxide insulating film 412 may be a stackincluding any of the above materials.

Here, the oxide insulating film 412 preferably contains excess oxygen.An oxide insulating film containing excess oxygen refers to an oxideinsulating film from which oxygen can be released by heat treatment orthe like. The oxide insulating film containing excess oxygen ispreferably a film in which the amount of released oxygen when convertedinto oxygen atoms is 1.0×10¹⁹ atoms/cm³ or more in thermal desorptionspectroscopy analysis. Oxygen released from the oxide insulating filmcan be diffused to the channel formation region in the multilayer film404 through the gate insulating film 408, so that oxygen vacanciesformed in the channel formation region can be filled with the oxygen. Inthis manner, the electrical characteristics of the transistor can bestable.

An aluminum oxide film is preferably used for the oxide insulating film412. The aluminum oxide film has not only a function of supplying oxygenbut also a function of blocking hydrogen, water, and oxygen.Alternatively, an aluminum oxide film containing silicon oxide, which isformed using a target in which an aluminum oxide and silicon oxide aremixed, can be used. In that case, the content of silicon oxide ispreferably greater than or equal to 0.1 wt % and less than or equal to30 wt %.

High integration of a semiconductor device requires miniaturization of atransistor. However, it is known that miniaturization of a transistorcauses deterioration of the electrical characteristics of thetransistor. In particular, on-state current, which is directly caused bya decrease in channel width, is significantly reduced.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are each a cross-sectional view in the channel widthdirection of a conventional transistor including an oxide semiconductorfilm. Each transistor includes a base insulating film 220 over asubstrate 210, an oxide semiconductor film 230 formed over the baseinsulating film, a gate insulating film 260 formed over the oxidesemiconductor film, and a gate electrode 270.

In the transistor in FIG. 4A, the length (W_(T)) of the top surface ofthe oxide semiconductor film in the channel width direction issufficiently larger than the thickness of the oxide semiconductor film230. In such a case, the channel width can be defined as W_(T).

Since an electric field from the gate electrode 270 to a side surface ofthe oxide semiconductor film 230 is not applied to the entire oxidesemiconductor film 230, a channel is not sufficiently formed in the sidesurface of the oxide semiconductor film 230. Further, since a ratio ofthe length (W_(S1), W_(S2)) of the side surface corresponding to thethickness of the oxide semiconductor film 230 to the length (W_(T)) ofthe top surface is small, even if a channel is formed, the contributionof the channel is estimated to be small. Thus, it can be said that asW_(T) becomes short, in other words, as the transistor is miniaturized,the on-state current is reduced.

In the case of a transistor in which W_(T) is as short as the thicknessof the oxide semiconductor film 230 as illustrated in FIG. 4B, anelectric field from the gate electrode 270 to the side surface of theoxide semiconductor film 230 is applied to the entire oxidesemiconductor film 230; thus, a channel is also formed in the sidesurface of the oxide semiconductor film 230. Accordingly, the on-statecurrent is expected to be increased by making the oxide semiconductorfilm 230 thick, for example. However, in the conventional transistor,the on-state current is not sufficiently increased because carriers arescattered at the interface between a channel formation layer (the oxidesemiconductor film 230) and the gate insulating film 260.

Further, the thickness (T_(GI2)) of the gate insulating film 260 whichcovers the side surface of the oxide semiconductor film 230 is likely tobe smaller than the thickness (T_(GI1)) of the gate insulating filmwhich covers the top surface of the oxide semiconductor film, dependingon the deposition method. Thus, a portion having low withstand voltageis formed in the gate insulating film 260, which might reduce thereliability of the transistor.

In addition, since T_(GI1) and T_(GI2) are different from each other, anelectric field applied from the gate electrode 270 to the oxidesemiconductor film 230 varies. Thus, the on-state current might vary.

In contrast, in the transistor of one embodiment of the presentinvention, as described above, the second oxide film 404 c is formedbetween the gate insulating film 408 and the oxide semiconductor film404 b in which a channel is formed. Accordingly, scattering of carriersat the interface between the channel formation layer and the gateinsulating film can be reduced and the field-effect mobility of thetransistor can be increased.

Further, in the transistor of one embodiment of the present invention,the second oxide film 404 c is formed so as to cover the oxidesemiconductor film 404 b where a channel is formed; thus, scattering ofcarriers in a side surface of the oxide semiconductor film 404 b can bereduced as in the top surface. This means that the on-state current ofthe transistor of one embodiment of the present invention can be higherthan that of the conventional transistor.

Therefore, the transistor of one embodiment of the present inventionproduces excellent effects particularly when having a structure in whichW_(T) shown in FIG. 5A or FIG. 5B is reduced to be substantially thesame as the thickness of the oxide semiconductor film 404 b or smaller.

In the case of a transistor illustrated in FIG. 5A or FIG. 5B, anelectric field from the gate electrode 170 to the side surface of theoxide semiconductor film 404 b is applied to the entire oxidesemiconductor film 404 b; thus, a channel is formed equally in the sideand top surfaces of the oxide semiconductor film 404 b.

In the case where a channel region 137 as in FIG. 5A is formed in thetransistor, the channel width can be defined as the sum of W_(T),W_(S1), and W_(S2), and on-state current flows in the transistor inaccordance with the channel width.

In the case of a transistor with an extremely small W_(T) as illustratedin FIG. 5B, a channel region 138 is formed entirely in the oxidesemiconductor film 404 b in the W_(T) direction, in some cases. In thiscase, current flows in the entire oxide semiconductor film 404 b; thus,extremely high on-state current flows in the transistor. In the casewhere W_(T) and W_(S1) of the transistor illustrated in FIG. 5A aresufficiently small, current flows in the entire oxide semiconductor film404 b.

One feature of the transistor of one embodiment of the present inventionis that T_(GI1) and T_(GI2) of the gate insulating film 160 aresubstantially equal. In such a case, an electric field applied from thegate electrode 170 to the oxide semiconductor film 404 b does not varyand a channel is formed uniformly in the top surface and the sidesurface of the oxide semiconductor film 404 b. Thus, in the case whereW_(S1) and W_(S2) are equal to W_(T), on-state current can beapproximately three times as high as that in the case where a channel isformed only in the top surface. In the case where W_(S1) and W_(S2) areeach twice as long as W_(T), on-state current can be approximately fivetimes as high as that in the case where a channel is formed only in thetop surface.

Since T_(GI1) and T_(GI2) of the gate insulating film 160 of thetransistor of one embodiment of the present invention are substantiallyequal, a portion having low withstand voltage is not formed in the gateinsulating film 260 and a highly reliable transistor can be formed.

To efficiently improve the on-state current of the transistor,W_(T)/W_(S1) (W_(T)/W_(S2)) is less than or equal to 3, preferably,W_(T)/W_(S1) (W_(T)/W_(S2)) is approximately 1. Specifically,W_(T)/W_(S1) (W_(T)/W_(S2)) is 0.7 to 1.3. In the case whereW_(T)/W_(S1) (W_(T)/W_(S2)) is larger than 3, the S value and theoff-state current might be increased.

As described above, with the transistor of one embodiment of the presentinvention, sufficiently high on-state current can be obtained even whenthe transistor is miniaturized. The structure of such a transistor inwhich a gate electrode electrically covers an oxide semiconductor filmand on-state current is increased is also referred to as a surroundedchannel (s-channel) structure.

In the transistor of one embodiment of the present invention, the oxidesemiconductor film 404 b is formed over the first oxide film 404 a, sothat an interface state is less likely to be formed. In addition,impurities do not enter the oxide semiconductor film 404 b from aboveand below because the oxide semiconductor film 404 b is an intermediatelayer in a three-layer structure. With the structure in which the oxidesemiconductor film 404 b is surrounded by the first oxide film 404 a andthe second oxide film 404 c, on-state current of the transistor isincreased as described above, and in addition, threshold voltage can bestabilized and an S value can be reduced. Thus, Icut (current when gatevoltage VG is 0 V) can be reduced and power consumption can be reduced.Further, the threshold voltage of the transistor becomes stable; thus,long-term reliability of the semiconductor device can be improved.

The transistor of one embodiment of the present invention may include aconductive film between the base insulating film 120 and the substrate110. When the conductive film is used as a second gate electrode, theon-state current can be further increased and the threshold voltage canbe controlled. In order to increase the on-state current, for example,the gate electrode 170 and the conductive film are set to have the samepotential, and the transistor is driven as a dual-gate transistor.Further, to control the threshold voltage, a fixed potential, which isdifferent from a potential of the gate electrode 170, is supplied to theconductive film.

A transistor 460 illustrated in FIGS. 6A to 6C can be used. FIGS. 6A to6C are a top view and cross-sectional views which illustrate thetransistor 460. FIG. 6A is the top view. FIG. 6B illustrates a crosssection taken along the dashed-dotted line A-B in FIG. 6A. FIG. 6Cillustrates a cross section taken along the dashed-dotted line C-D inFIG. 6A. Note that for simplification of the drawing, some componentsare not illustrated in the top view in FIG. 6A.

A difference of the transistor FIGS. 6A to 6C from the transistor inFIGS. 1A to 1C is that the top surface of the oxide semiconductor film404 b does not have a flat portion when seen in the channel widthdirection as shown in FIG. 6C.

In the transistor 450 in FIGS. 1A to 1C and the transistor 460 in FIGS.6A to 6C, the multilayer film 404 has a structure in which the oxidesemiconductor film 404 b is sandwiched by the first oxide film 404 a andthe second oxide film 404 c. The structure of the multilayer film 404 isnot limited to this structure, and may be a structure of a transistor470 in FIG. 7, in which the first oxide film 404 a and the second oxidefilm 404 c are not provided and only the oxide semiconductor film 404 bis provided.

This embodiment can be combined as appropriate with any of the otherembodiments in this specification.

Embodiment 2

In this embodiment, a method for forming the transistor 450, which isdescribed in Embodiment 1 with reference to FIGS. 1A to 1C, is describedwith reference to FIGS. 8A to 8C and FIGS. 9A to 9C.

First, the base insulating film 402 is formed over the substrate 400(see FIG. 8A).

For the substrate 400, a glass substrate, a ceramic substrate, a quartzsubstrate, a sapphire substrate, or the like can be used. Alternatively,a single crystal semiconductor substrate or a polycrystallinesemiconductor substrate made of silicon, silicon carbide, or the like, acompound semiconductor substrate made of silicon germanium or the like,a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate, or the like can be used. Furtheralternatively, any of these substrates further provided with asemiconductor element can be used.

The base insulating film 402 can be formed by a plasma CVD method, asputtering method, or the like using an oxide insulating film ofaluminum oxide, magnesium oxide, silicon oxide, silicon oxynitride,gallium oxide, germanium oxide, yttrium oxide, zirconium oxide,lanthanum oxide, neodymium oxide, hafnium oxide, tantalum oxide, or thelike; a nitride insulating film of silicon nitride, silicon nitrideoxide, aluminum nitride, aluminum nitride oxide, or the like; or a filmin which any of the above materials are mixed. Alternatively, a stackincluding any of the above materials may be used, and at least an upperlayer of the base insulating film 402 which is in contact with themultilayer film 404 is preferably formed using a material containingexcess oxygen that might serve as a supply source of oxygen to themultilayer film 404.

Oxygen may be added to the base insulating film 402 by an ionimplantation method, an ion doping method, a plasma immersion ionimplantation method, or the like. Adding oxygen enables the baseinsulating film 402 to supply oxygen much easily to the multilayer film404.

In the case where a surface of the substrate 400 is made of an insulatorand there is no influence of impurity diffusion to the multilayer film404 to be formed later, the base insulating film 402 is not necessarilyprovided.

Next, the first oxide film 404 a and the oxide semiconductor film 404 bare formed over the base insulating film 402 by a sputtering method, aCVD method, an MBE method, an ALD method, or a PLD method (see FIG. 8B).At this time, as shown in FIG. 8B, the base insulating film 402 can beslightly over-etched. By over-etching of the base insulating film 402,the gate electrode 410 to be formed later can cover the second oxidefilm 404 c easily.

For processing the first oxide film 404 a and the oxide semiconductorfilm 404 b into island shapes, first, a film to be a hard mask (e.g., atungsten film) and a resist mask are provided over the oxidesemiconductor film 404 b, and the film to be a hard mask is etched intoa hard mask. Then, the resist mask is removed, and the first oxide film404 a and the oxide semiconductor film 404 b are etched using the hardmask. After that, the hard mask is removed. At this step, the hard maskis gradually reduced as the etching progresses; as a result, endportions of the hard mask become round and a surface of the hard mask iscurved. With this structure, the coverage with the second oxide film 404c, the gate insulating film 408, the gate electrode 410, and the oxideinsulating film 412, which are to be formed over the oxide semiconductorfilm 404 b, can be improved; thus, occurrence of a shape defect such asdisconnection can be inhibited. In addition, electric fieldconcentration which might occur at end portions of the source electrode406 a and the drain electrode 406 b can be reduced, which can suppressdeterioration of the transistor.

In order to form a continuous energy band in a stack including the firstoxide film 404 a and the oxide semiconductor film 404 b, or a stackincluding the first oxide film 404 a, the oxide semiconductor film 404b, and the second oxide film 404 c to be formed in a later step, thelayers need to be formed successively without exposure to the air withthe use of a multi-chamber deposition apparatus (e.g., a sputteringapparatus) including a load lock chamber. It is preferable that eachchamber of the sputtering apparatus be able to be evacuated to a highvacuum (to approximately higher than or equal to 5×10⁻⁷ Pa and lowerthan or equal to 1×10⁻⁴ Pa) by an adsorption vacuum evacuation pump suchas a cryopump and that the chamber be able to heat a substrate overwhich a film is to be deposited to 100° C. or higher, preferably 500° C.or higher, so that water and the like acting as impurities of an oxidesemiconductor are removed as much as possible. Alternatively, acombination of a turbo molecular pump and a cold trap is preferably usedto prevent back-flow of a gas containing a carbon component, moisture,or the like from an evacuation system into the chamber.

Not only high vacuum evacuation of the chamber but also high purity of asputtering gas is necessary to obtain a highly purified intrinsic oxidesemiconductor. An oxygen gas or an argon gas used as the sputtering gasis highly purified to have a dew point of −40° C. or lower, preferably−80° C. or lower, further preferably −100° C. or lower, so that entry ofmoisture and the like into the oxide semiconductor film can be preventedas much as possible.

The materials described in Embodiment 1 can be used for the first oxidefilm 404 a, the oxide semiconductor film 404 b, and the second oxidefilm 404 c that is to be formed in a later step. For example, anIn—Ga—Zn oxide whose atomic ratio of In to Ga and Zn is 1:3:4 or 1:3:2can be used for the first oxide film 404 a, an In—Ga—Zn oxide whoseatomic ratio of In to Ga and Zn is 1:1:1 can be used for the oxidesemiconductor film 404 b, and an In—Ga—Zn oxide whose atomic ratio of Into Ga and Zn is 1:3:4 or 1:3:2 can be used for the second oxide film 404c.

An oxide semiconductor that can be used for each of the first oxide film404 a, the oxide semiconductor film 404 b, and the second oxide film 404c preferably contains at least indium (In) or zinc (Zn). Alternatively,the oxide semiconductor preferably contains both In and Zn. In order toreduce variations in the electrical characteristics of the transistorincluding the oxide semiconductor, the oxide semiconductor preferablycontains a stabilizer in addition to In and/or Zn.

Examples of a stabilizer include gallium (Ga), tin (Sn), hafnium (Hf),aluminum (Al), and zirconium (Zr). Other examples of a stabilizer arelanthanoids such as lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), praseodymium (Pr),neodymium (Nd), samarium (Sm), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), terbium(Tb), dysprosium (Dy), holmium (Ho), erbium (Er), thulium (Tm),ytterbium (Yb), and lutetium (Lu).

As the oxide semiconductor, for example, any of the following can beused: indium oxide, tin oxide, zinc oxide, an In—Zn oxide, a Sn—Znoxide, an Al—Zn oxide, a Zn—Mg oxide, a Sn—Mg oxide, an In—Mg oxide, anIn—Ga oxide, an In—Ga—Zn oxide, an In—Al—Zn oxide, an In—Sn—Zn oxide, aSn—Ga—Zn oxide, an Al—Ga—Zn oxide, a Sn—Al—Zn oxide, an In—Hf—Zn oxide,an In—La—Zn oxide, an In—Ce—Zn oxide, an In—Pr—Zn oxide, an In—Nd—Znoxide, an In—Sm—Zn oxide, an In—Eu—Zn oxide, an In—Gd—Zn oxide, anIn—Tb—Zn oxide, an In—Dy—Zn oxide, an In—Ho—Zn oxide, an In—Er—Zn oxide,an In—Tm—Zn oxide, an In—Yb—Zn oxide, an In—Lu—Zn oxide, an In—Sn—Ga—Znoxide, an In—Hf—Ga—Zn oxide, an In—Al—Ga—Zn oxide, an In—Sn—Al—Zn oxide,an In—Sn—Hf—Zn oxide, and an In—Hf—Al—Zn oxide.

Note that here, for example, an “In—Ga—Zn oxide” means an oxidecontaining In, Ga, and Zn as its main components. The In—Ga—Zn oxide maycontain a metal element other than In, Ga, and Zn. Further, in thisspecification, a film formed using an In—Ga—Zn oxide is also referred toas an IGZO film.

Alternatively, a material represented by InMO₃(ZnO)_(m) (m>0, where m isnot an integer) may be used. Note that M represents one or more metalelements selected from Ga, Fe, Mn, and Co. Further alternatively, amaterial represented by In₂SnO₅(ZnO)_(n) (n>0, where n is an integer)may be used.

Note that as described in Embodiment 1 in detail, materials are selectedso that the first oxide film 404 a and the second oxide film 404 c eachhave an electron affinity lower than that of the oxide semiconductorfilm 404 b.

The oxide films and the oxide semiconductor film are each preferablyformed by a sputtering method. As a sputtering method, an RF sputteringmethod, a DC sputtering method, an AC sputtering method, or the like canbe used. In particular, a DC sputtering method is preferably usedbecause dust generated in the deposition can be reduced and the filmthickness can be uniform.

In the case of using an In—Ga—Zn oxide, a material whose atomic ratio ofIn to Ga and Zn is any of 1:1:1, 1:1:1.2, 1:1:1.5, 2:2:1, 3:1:2, 1:3:2,1:3:4, 1:4:3, 1:5:4, 1:6:6, 2:1:3 1:6:4, 1:9:6, 1:1:4, and 1:1:2 is usedfor the first oxide film 404 a, the oxide semiconductor film 404 b,and/or the second oxide film 404 c so that the first oxide film 404 aand the second oxide film 404 c each have an electron affinity lowerthan that of the oxide semiconductor film 404 b.

Note that for example, in the case where the composition of an oxidecontaining In, Ga, and Zn at the atomic ratio, In:Ga:Zn=a:b:c (a+b+c=1),is in the neighborhood of the composition of an oxide containing In, Ga,and Zn at the atomic ratio, In:Ga:Zn=A:B:C (A+B+C=1), a, b, and csatisfy the following relation: (a−A)²+(b−B)²+(c−C)²≤r², and r may be0.05, for example. The same applies to other oxides.

The indium content of the oxide semiconductor film 404 b is preferablyhigher than the indium content of the first oxide film 404 a and theindium content of the second oxide film 404 c. In an oxidesemiconductor, the s orbital of heavy metal mainly contributes tocarrier transfer, and when the proportion of In in the oxidesemiconductor is increased, overlap of the s orbitals is likely to beincreased. Thus, an oxide having a composition in which the proportionof In is higher than that of Ga has higher mobility than an oxide havinga composition in which the proportion of In is equal to or lower thanthat of Ga. For this reason, with the use of an oxide having a highindium content for the oxide semiconductor film 404 b, a transistorhaving high mobility can be achieved.

A structure of an oxide semiconductor film is described below.

Note that in this specification, a term “parallel” indicates that theangle formed between two straight lines is greater than or equal to −10°and less than or equal to 10°, and accordingly also includes the casewhere the angle is greater than or equal to −5° and less than or equalto 5°. In addition, a term “perpendicular” indicates that the angleformed between two straight lines is greater than or equal to 80° andless than or equal to 100°, and accordingly includes the case where theangle is greater than or equal to 85° and less than or equal to 95°.

In this specification, the trigonal and rhombohedral crystal systems areincluded in the hexagonal crystal system.

An oxide semiconductor film is classified roughly into a single-crystaloxide semiconductor film and a non-single-crystal oxide semiconductorfilm. The non-single-crystal oxide semiconductor film includes any of ac-axis aligned crystalline oxide semiconductor (CAAC-OS) film, apolycrystalline oxide semiconductor film, a microcrystalline oxidesemiconductor film, an amorphous oxide semiconductor film, and the like.

First, a CAAC-OS film is described.

The CAAC-OS film is one of oxide semiconductor films including aplurality of crystal parts.

In a transmission electron microscope (TEM) image of the CAAC-OS film, aboundary between crystal parts, that is, a grain boundary is not clearlyobserved. Thus, in the CAAC-OS film, a reduction in electron mobilitydue to the grain boundary is less likely to occur.

According to the TEM image of the CAAC-OS film observed in a directionsubstantially parallel to a sample surface (cross-sectional TEM image),metal atoms are arranged in a layered manner in the crystal parts. Eachmetal atom layer has a morphology reflected by a surface over which theCAAC-OS film is formed (hereinafter, a surface over which the CAAC-OSfilm is formed is referred to as a formation surface) or a top surfaceof the CAAC-OS film, and is arranged in parallel to the formationsurface or the top surface of the CAAC-OS film.

On the other hand, according to the TEM image of the CAAC-OS filmobserved in a direction substantially perpendicular to the samplesurface (plan TEM image), metal atoms are arranged in a triangular orhexagonal configuration in the crystal parts. However, there is noregularity of arrangement of metal atoms between different crystalparts.

Note that in an electron diffraction pattern of the CAAC-OS film, spots(bright spots) having alignment are shown. For example, when electrondiffraction with an electron beam having a diameter of 1 nm or more and30 nm or less (such electron diffraction is also referred to as nanobeamelectron diffraction) is performed on the top surface of the CAAC-OSfilm, spots are observed (see FIG. 37A).

From the results of the cross-sectional TEM image and the plan TEMimage, alignment is found in the crystal parts in the CAAC-OS film.

A CAAC-OS film is subjected to structural analysis with an X-raydiffraction (XRD) apparatus. For example, when the CAAC-OS filmincluding an InGaZnO₄ crystal is analyzed by an out-of-plane method, apeak appears frequently when the diffraction angle (2θ) is around 31°.This peak is derived from the (009) plane of the InGaZnO₄ crystal, whichindicates that crystals in the CAAC-OS film have c-axis alignment, andthat the c-axes are aligned in a direction substantially perpendicularto the formation surface or the top surface of the CAAC-OS film.

On the other hand, when the CAAC-OS film is analyzed by an in-planemethod in which an X-ray enters a sample in a direction substantiallyperpendicular to the c-axis, a peak appears frequently when 2θ is around56°. This peak is derived from the (110) plane of the InGaZnO₄ crystal.Here, analysis (φ scan) is performed under conditions where the sampleis rotated around a normal vector of a sample surface as an axis (φaxis) with 2θ fixed at around 56°. In the case where the sample is asingle-crystal oxide semiconductor film of InGaZnO₄, six peaks appear.The six peaks are derived from crystal planes equivalent to the (110)plane. On the other hand, in the case of a CAAC-OS film, a peak is notclearly observed even when φ scan is performed with 2θ fixed at around56°.

According to the above results, in the CAAC-OS film having c-axisalignment, while the directions of a-axes and b-axes are differentbetween crystal parts, the c-axes are aligned in a direction parallel toa normal vector of a formation surface or a normal vector of a topsurface. Thus, each metal atom layer arranged in a layered mannerobserved in the cross-sectional TEM image corresponds to a planeparallel to the a-b plane of the crystal.

Note that the crystal part is formed concurrently with deposition of theCAAC-OS film or is formed through crystallization treatment such as heattreatment. As described above, the c-axes of the crystal are aligned ina direction parallel to a normal vector of a formation surface or anormal vector of a top surface. Thus, for example, in the case where ashape of the CAAC-OS film is changed by etching or the like, the c-axismight not be necessarily parallel to a normal vector of a formationsurface or a normal vector of a top surface of the CAAC-OS film.

Further, the degree of crystallinity in the CAAC-OS film is notnecessarily uniform. For example, in the case where crystal growthleading to the CAAC-OS film occurs from the vicinity of the top surfaceof the film, the degree of the crystallinity in the vicinity of the topsurface is higher than that in the vicinity of the formation surface insome cases. Further, when an impurity is added to the CAAC-OS film, thecrystallinity in a region to which the impurity is added is changed, andthe degree of crystallinity in the CAAC-OS film varies depending onregions.

Note that when the CAAC-OS film with an InGaZnO₄ crystal is analyzed byan out-of-plane method, a peak of 2θ may also be observed at around 36°,in addition to the peak of 2θ at around 31°. The peak of 2θ at around36° indicates that a crystal having no c-axis alignment is included inpart of the CAAC-OS film. It is preferable that in the CAAC-OS film, apeak of 2θ appear at around 31° and a peak of 2θ do not appear at around36°.

The CAAC-OS film is an oxide semiconductor film having low impurityconcentration. The impurity is an element other than the main componentsof the oxide semiconductor film, such as hydrogen, carbon, silicon, or atransition metal element. In particular, an element that has higherbonding strength to oxygen than a metal element included in the oxidesemiconductor film, such as silicon, disturbs the atomic arrangement ofthe oxide semiconductor film by depriving the oxide semiconductor filmof oxygen and causes a reduction in crystallinity. Further, a heavymetal such as iron or nickel, argon, carbon dioxide, or the like has alarge atomic radius (or molecular radius), and thus disturbs the atomicarrangement of the oxide semiconductor film and causes a reduction incrystallinity when it is contained in the oxide semiconductor film. Notethat the impurity contained in the oxide semiconductor film might serveas a carrier trap or a carrier generation source.

Further, the CAAC-OS film is an oxide semiconductor film having a lowdensity of defect states. For example, an oxygen vacancy in the oxidesemiconductor film serves as a carrier trap or a carrier generationsource in some cases when hydrogen is captured therein.

The state in which the impurity concentration is low and the density ofdefect states is low (the number of oxygen vacancies is small) isreferred to as a highly purified intrinsic state or a substantiallyhighly purified intrinsic state. A highly purified intrinsic orsubstantially highly purified intrinsic oxide semiconductor film has fewcarrier generation sources, and thus can have a low carrier density.Thus, a transistor including the oxide semiconductor film rarely hasnegative threshold voltage (is rarely normally on). The highly purifiedintrinsic or substantially highly purified intrinsic oxide semiconductorfilm has few carrier traps. Accordingly, the transistor including theoxide semiconductor film has small variations in electricalcharacteristics and high reliability. Electric charge trapped by thecarrier traps in the oxide semiconductor film takes a long time to bereleased, and might behave like fixed electric charge. Thus, thetransistor that includes the oxide semiconductor film having highimpurity concentration and a high density of defect states has unstableelectrical characteristics in some cases.

With the use of the CAAC-OS film in a transistor, variations in theelectrical characteristics of the transistor due to irradiation withvisible light or ultraviolet light are small.

Next, a polycrystalline oxide semiconductor film is described.

In an image obtained with a TEM, for example, crystal grains can befound in the polycrystalline oxide semiconductor film. In most cases,the size of a crystal grain in the polycrystalline oxide semiconductorfilm is greater than or equal to 2 nm and less than or equal to 300 nm,greater than or equal to 3 nm and less than or equal to 100 nm, orgreater than or equal to 5 nm and less than or equal to 50 nm in animage obtained with the TEM, for example. Moreover, in an image obtainedwith the TEM, a boundary between crystals can be found in thepolycrystalline oxide semiconductor film in some cases.

The polycrystalline oxide semiconductor film may include a plurality ofcrystal grains, and alignment of crystals may be different in theplurality of crystal grains. The polycrystalline oxide semiconductorfilm is subjected to structural analysis with an XRD apparatus. Forexample, when the polycrystalline oxide semiconductor film including anInGaZnO₄ crystal is analyzed by an out-of-plane method, peaks of 2θappear at around 31°, 36°, and the like in some cases.

The polycrystalline oxide semiconductor film has high crystallinity andthus has high electron mobility in some cases. Accordingly, a transistorincluding the polycrystalline oxide semiconductor film has highfield-effect mobility. Note that there are cases in which an impurity issegregated at the grain boundary between the crystals in thepolycrystalline oxide semiconductor film. Moreover, the grain boundaryof the polycrystalline oxide semiconductor film becomes a defect state.Since the grain boundary of the polycrystalline oxide semiconductor filmmay serve as a carrier trap or a carrier generation source, a transistorincluding the polycrystalline oxide semiconductor film has largervariation in electrical characteristics and lower reliability than atransistor including a CAAC-OS film in some cases.

Next, a microcrystalline oxide semiconductor film is described.

In an image obtained with a TEM, crystal parts cannot be found clearlyin the microcrystalline oxide semiconductor in some cases. In mostcases, the size of a crystal part in the microcrystalline oxidesemiconductor film is greater than or equal to 1 nm and less than orequal to 100 nm, or greater than or equal to 1 nm and less than or equalto 10 nm. An oxide semiconductor film including nanocrystal (nc), whichis a microcrystal with a size greater than or equal to 1 nm and lessthan or equal to 10 nm, or a size greater than or equal to 1 nm and lessthan or equal to 3 nm, is specifically referred to as a nanocrystallineoxide semiconductor (nc-OS) film. In an image of the nc-OS film obtainedwith a TEM, for example, a crystal grain cannot be observed clearly insome cases.

In the nc-OS film, a microscopic region (e.g., a region with a sizegreater than or equal to 1 nm and less than or equal to 10 nm, inparticular, a region with a size greater than or equal to 1 nm and lessthan or equal to 3 nm) has a periodic atomic order. Further, there is noregularity of crystal orientation between different crystal parts in thenc-OS film; thus, the orientation of the whole film is not observed.Accordingly, in some cases, the nc-OS film cannot be distinguished froman amorphous oxide semiconductor film depending on an analysis method.For example, when the nc-OS film is subjected to structural analysis byan out-of-plane method with an XRD apparatus using an X-ray having adiameter larger than that of a crystal part, a peak which shows acrystal plane does not appear. Further, a halo pattern is observed in anelectron diffraction pattern (also referred to as a selected-areaelectron diffraction pattern) of the nc-OS film obtained by using anelectron beam having a probe diameter (e.g., larger than or equal to 50nm) larger than the diameter of a crystal part. Meanwhile, spots areobserved in a nanobeam electron diffraction pattern of the nc-OS filmobtained by using an electron beam having a probe diameter close to, orsmaller than or equal to the diameter of a crystal part. In some cases,in a nanobeam electron diffraction pattern of the nc-OS film, regionswith high luminance in a circular (ring) pattern are observed. Further,in a nanobeam electron diffraction pattern of the nc-OS film, aplurality of spots are shown in a ring-like region in some cases (seeFIG. 37B).

Since an nc-OS film is an oxide semiconductor film having moreregularity than an amorphous oxide semiconductor film, the nc-OS filmhas a lower density of defect states than the amorphous oxidesemiconductor film. However, there is no regularity of crystalorientation between different crystal parts in the nc-OS film; hence,the nc-OS film has a higher density of defect states than a CAAC-OSfilm.

Thus, the nc-OS film may have a higher carrier density than the CAAC-OSfilm. The oxide semiconductor film having a high carrier density mayhave high electron mobility. Thus, a transistor including the nc-OS filmmay have high field-effect mobility. The nc-OS film has a higher defectstate density than the CAAC-OS film, and thus may have a lot of carriertraps. Consequently, a transistor including the nc-OS film has largervariation in electrical characteristics and lower reliability than atransistor including the CAAC-OS film. The nc-OS film can be formedeasily as compared to the CAAC-OS film because nc-OS film can be formedeven when a relatively large amount of impurities are included; thus,depending on the purpose, the nc-OS film can be favorably used in somecases. Therefore, a semiconductor device including the transistorincluding the nc-OS film can be manufactured with high productivity insome cases.

Next, an amorphous oxide semiconductor film is described.

The amorphous oxide semiconductor film has disordered atomic arrangementand no crystal part. For example, the amorphous oxide semiconductor filmdoes not have a specific state as in quartz.

In an image obtained with a TEM, crystal parts cannot be found in theamorphous oxide semiconductor film.

When the amorphous oxide semiconductor film is subjected to structuralanalysis by an out-of-plane method with an XRD apparatus, a peak whichshows a crystal plane does not appear. A halo pattern is shown in anelectron diffraction pattern of the amorphous oxide semiconductor film.Further, a halo pattern is shown but a spot is not shown in a nanobeamelectron diffraction pattern of the amorphous oxide semiconductor film.

The amorphous oxide semiconductor film contains impurities such ashydrogen at a high concentration. In addition, the amorphous oxidesemiconductor film has a high density of defect states.

The oxide semiconductor film having a high impurity concentration and ahigh density of defect states has many carrier traps or many carriergeneration sources.

Accordingly, the amorphous oxide semiconductor film has a much highercarrier density than the nc-OS film. Therefore, a transistor includingthe amorphous oxide semiconductor film tends to be normally on. Thus, insome cases, such an amorphous oxide semiconductor layer can be appliedto a transistor which needs to be normally on. Since the amorphous oxidesemiconductor film has a high density of defect states, carrier trapsmight be increased. Consequently, a transistor including the amorphousoxide semiconductor film has larger variation in electricalcharacteristics and lower reliability than a transistor including theCAAC-OS film or the nc-OS film.

Next, a single-crystal oxide semiconductor film is described.

The single-crystal oxide semiconductor film has a lower impurityconcentration and a lower density of defect states (a small amount ofoxygen vacancy). Thus, the carrier density can be decreased.Accordingly, a transistor including the single-crystal oxidesemiconductor film is unlikely to be normally on. Moreover, since thesingle-crystal oxide semiconductor film has a lower impurityconcentration and a lower density of defect states, carrier traps mightbe reduced. Thus, the transistor including the single-crystal oxidesemiconductor film has small variation in electrical characteristics andaccordingly has high reliability.

Note that when the oxide semiconductor film has few defects, the densitythereof is increased. When the oxide semiconductor film has highcrystallinity, the density thereof is increased. When the oxidesemiconductor film has a lower concentration of impurities such ashydrogen, the density thereof is increased. The single-crystal oxidesemiconductor film has a higher density than the CAAC-OS film. TheCAAC-OS film has a higher density than the microcrystalline oxidesemiconductor film. The polycrystalline oxide semiconductor film has ahigher density than the microcrystalline oxide semiconductor film. Themicrocrystalline oxide semiconductor film has a higher density than theamorphous oxide semiconductor film.

Note that an oxide semiconductor film may be a stacked film includingtwo or more films of an amorphous oxide semiconductor film, amicrocrystalline oxide semiconductor film, and a CAAC-OS film, forexample.

In the case where the oxide semiconductor film has a plurality ofstructures, the structures can be analyzed using nanobeam electrondiffraction in some cases.

FIG. 38A illustrates a transmission electron diffraction measurementapparatus which includes an electron gun chamber 10, an optical system12 below the electron gun chamber 10, a sample chamber 14 below theoptical system 12, an optical system 16 below the sample chamber 14, anobservation chamber 20 below the optical system 16, a camera 18installed in the observation chamber 20, and a film chamber 22 below theobservation chamber 20. The camera 18 is provided to face toward theinside of the observation chamber 20. Note that the film chamber 22 isnot necessarily provided.

FIG. 38B illustrates an internal structure of the transmission electrondiffraction measurement apparatus illustrated in FIG. 38A. In thetransmission electron diffraction measurement apparatus, a substance 28which is positioned in the sample chamber 14 is irradiated withelectrons emitted from an electron gun installed in the electron gunchamber 10 through the optical system 12. Electrons passing through thesubstance 28 enter a fluorescent plate 32 provided in the observationchamber 20 through the optical system 16. On the fluorescent plate 32, apattern corresponding to the intensity of entered electron appears,which allows measurement of a transmission electron diffraction pattern.

The camera 18 is installed so as to face the fluorescent plate 32 andcan take a picture of a pattern appearing in the fluorescent plate 32.An angle formed by a straight line which passes through the center of alens of the camera 18 and the center of the fluorescent plate 32 and anupper surface of the fluorescent plate 32 is, for example, 15° or moreand 80° or less, 30° or more and 75° or less, or 45° or more and 70° orless. As the angle is reduced, distortion of the transmission electrondiffraction pattern taken by the camera 18 becomes larger. Note that ifthe angle is obtained in advance, the distortion of an obtainedtransmission electron diffraction pattern can be corrected. Note thatthe film chamber 22 may be provided with the camera 18. For example, thecamera 18 may be set in the film chamber 22 so as to be opposite to theincident direction of electrons 24. In this case, a transmissionelectron diffraction pattern with less distortion can be taken from therear surface of the fluorescent plate 32.

A holder for fixing the substance 28 that is a sample is provided in thesample chamber 14. The holder transmits electrons passing through thesubstance 28. The holder may have, for example, a function of moving thesubstance 28 in the direction of the X, Y, and Z axes. The movementfunction of the holder may have an accuracy of moving the substance inthe range of, for example, 1 nm to 10 nm, 5 nm to 50 nm, 10 nm to 100nm, 50 nm to 500 nm, and 100 nm to 1 μm. The range is preferablydetermined to be an optimal range for the structure of the substance 28.

Then, a method for measuring a transmission electron diffraction patternof a substance by the transmission electron diffraction measurementapparatus described above is described.

For example, changes in the structure of a substance can be observed bychanging (scanning) the irradiation position of the electrons 24 thatare a nanobeam in the substance, as illustrated in FIG. 38B. At thistime, when the substance 28 is a CAAC-OS film, a diffraction pattern asshown in FIG. 37A is observed. When the substance 28 is an nc-OS film, adiffraction pattern shown in FIG. 37B is observed.

Even when the substance 28 is a CAAC-OS film, a diffraction patternsimilar to that of an nc-OS film or the like is partly observed in somecases. Therefore, whether or not a CAAC-OS film is favorable can bedetermined by the proportion of a region where a diffraction pattern ofa CAAC-OS film is observed in a predetermined area (also referred to asproportion of CAAC). In the case of a high quality CAAC-OS film, forexample, the proportion of CAAC is higher than or equal to 60%,preferably higher than or equal to 80%, further preferably higher thanor equal to 90%, still further preferably higher than or equal to 95%.Note that a proportion of a region where a diffraction pattern differentfrom that of a CAAC-OS film is observed is referred to as the proportionof not-CAAC.

For example, transmission electron diffraction patterns were obtained byscanning a top surface of a sample including a CAAC-OS film obtainedjust after deposition (represented as “as-depo”) and a top surface of asample including a CAAC-OS subjected to heat treatment at 350° C. or450° C. Here, the proportion of CAAC was obtained in such a manner thatdiffraction patterns were observed by scanning for 60 seconds at a rateof 5 nm/second and the obtained diffraction patterns were converted intostill images every 0.5 seconds. Note that as an electron beam, ananobeam with a probe diameter of 1 nm was used.

FIG. 39 shows the proportion of CAAC in each sample. These results showthat the proportion of CAAC obtained after the heat treatment at 450° C.is higher than that obtained just after the deposition or after the heattreatment at 350° C. That is, heat treatment at a temperature higherthan 350° C. (e.g., higher than or equal to 400° C.) reduces theproportion of non-CAAC (increases the proportion of CAAC). Here, most ofdiffraction patterns different from that of a CAAC-OS film arediffraction patterns similar to that of an nc-OS film. Therefore, theabove results suggest that the region having a structure similar to thatof an nc-OS film is rearranged by the heat treatment owing to theinfluence of the structure of the adjacent region, whereby the regionbecomes CAAC.

With such a measurement method, the structure of an oxide semiconductorfilm having a plurality of structures can be analyzed in some cases.

A CAAC-OS film can be deposited by a sputtering method with apolycrystalline oxide semiconductor sputtering target, for example. Whenions collide with the sputtering target, a crystal region included inthe sputtering target may be separated from the target along the a-bplane; in other words, a sputtered particle having a plane parallel tothe a-b plane (a flat-plate-like sputtered particle or a pellet-likesputtered particle) might flake off from the target. In this case, theflat-plate-like sputtered particle or the pellet-like sputtered particleis electrically charged and thus reaches a substrate while maintainingits crystal state without being aggregated in plasma, whereby a CAAC-OSfilm can be formed.

First heat treatment may be performed after the oxide semiconductor film404 b is formed. The first heat treatment may be performed at atemperature higher than or equal to 250° C. and lower than or equal to650° C., preferably higher than or equal to 300° C. and lower than orequal to 500° C., in an inert gas atmosphere, in an atmospherecontaining an oxidizing gas at 10 ppm or more, or under reducedpressure. Alternatively, the first heat treatment may be performed insuch a manner that heat treatment is performed in an inert gasatmosphere, and then another heat treatment is performed in anatmosphere containing an oxidizing gas at 10 ppm or more in order tocompensate desorbed oxygen. By the first heat treatment, thecrystallinity of the oxide semiconductor film 404 b can be improved, andin addition, impurities such as hydrogen and water can be removed fromthe base insulating film 402 and the first oxide film 404 a. Note thatthe first heat treatment may be performed before etching for formationof the oxide semiconductor film 404 b.

A first conductive film to be the source electrode 406 a and the drainelectrode 406 b is formed over the first oxide film 404 a and the oxidesemiconductor film 404 b. For the first conductive film, Al, Cr, Cu, Ta,Ti, Mo, W, or an alloy material containing any of these as its maincomponent can be used. For example, a 100-nm-thick titanium film isformed by a sputtering method or the like. Alternatively, a tungstenfilm may be formed by a CVD method.

Then, the first conductive film is etched so as to be divided over theoxide semiconductor film 404 b to form the source electrode 406 a andthe drain electrode 406 b (see FIG. 8C). At this time, the firstconductive film may be over-etched, so that the base insulating film 402is partly etched.

Next, the second oxide film 403 c is formed over the first oxide film404 a, the oxide semiconductor film 404 b, the source electrode 406 a,and the drain electrode 406 b.

Note that second heat treatment may be performed after the second oxidefilm 403 c is formed. The second heat treatment can be performed underconditions similar to those of the first heat treatment. The second heattreatment can remove impurities such as hydrogen and water from thesecond oxide film 403 c. In addition, impurities such as hydrogen andwater can be further removed from the first oxide film 404 a and theoxide semiconductor film 404 b.

Next, an insulating film 407 to be the gate insulating film 408 isformed over the second oxide film 403 c (see FIG. 9A). The insulatingfilm 407 can be formed using aluminum oxide, magnesium oxide, siliconoxide, silicon oxynitride, silicon nitride oxide, silicon nitride,gallium oxide, germanium oxide, yttrium oxide, zirconium oxide,lanthanum oxide, neodymium oxide, hafnium oxide, tantalum oxide, or thelike. The insulating film 407 may be a stack including any of the abovematerials. The insulating film 407 can be formed by a sputtering method,a CVD method, an MBE method, an ALD method, a PLD method, or the like.It is preferable to form the gate insulating film 408 by selecting a rawmaterial, temperature, pressure, the distance between electrodes,applied power, and the like so that the coverage can be improved andT_(GI1) and T_(GI2) are substantially equal to each other as illustratedin FIG. 5A. For example, the coverage can be improved by depositionunder the conditions of high temperature and high pressure in a rangewhere the film quality as a gate insulating film can be maintained.

Then, a second conductive film 409 to be the gate electrode 410 isformed over the insulating film 407 (see FIG. 9B). For the secondconductive film 409, Al, Ti, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Y, Zr, Mo, Ru, Ag, Ta, W,or an alloy material containing any of these as its main component canbe used. The second conductive film 409 can be formed by a sputteringmethod, a CVD method, or the like. A stack including a conductive filmcontaining any of the above materials and a conductive film containingnitrogen, or a conductive film containing nitrogen may be used for thesecond conductive film 409.

After that, the second conductive film 409 is selectively etched using aresist mask to form the gate electrode 410 (see FIG. 9C).

Then, the insulating film 407 is selectively etched using the resistmask or the gate electrode 410 as a mask to form the gate insulatingfilm 408.

Subsequently, the second oxide film 403 c is etched using the resistmask or the gate electrode 410 as a mask to form the second oxide film404 c.

A top end portion of the second oxide film 404 c is aligned with abottom end portion of the gate insulating film 408. A top end portion ofthe gate insulating film 408 is aligned with a bottom end portion of thegate electrode 410. Although the gate insulating film 408 and the secondoxide film 404 c are formed using the gate electrode 410 as a mask, thegate insulating film 408 and the second oxide film 404 c may be formedbefore the second conductive film 409 is formed.

Next, the oxide insulating film 412 is formed over the source electrode406 a, the drain electrode 406 b, and the gate electrode 410 (see FIG.1B). A material and a method for the oxide insulating film 412 can besimilar to those of the base insulating film 402. The oxide insulatingfilm 412 may be formed using aluminum oxide, magnesium oxide, siliconoxide, silicon oxynitride, silicon nitride oxide, silicon nitride,gallium oxide, germanium oxide, yttrium oxide, zirconium oxide,lanthanum oxide, neodymium oxide, hafnium oxide, tantalum oxide, or anoxide insulating film containing nitrogen. The oxide insulating film 412can be formed by a sputtering method, a CVD method, an MBE method, anALD method, or a PLD method, and is preferably formed to contain excessoxygen so as to be able to supply oxygen to the multilayer film 404.

Oxygen may be added to the oxide insulating film 412 by an ionimplantation method, an ion doping method, a plasma immersion ionimplantation method, or the like. Adding oxygen enables the oxideinsulating film 412 to supply oxygen much easily to the multilayer film404.

Next, third heat treatment may be performed. The third heat treatmentcan be performed under conditions similar to those of the first heattreatment. By the third heat treatment, excess oxygen is easily releasedfrom the base insulating film 402, the gate insulating film 408, and theoxide insulating film 412, so that oxygen vacancies in the multilayerfilm 404 can be reduced.

Through the above process, the transistor 450 illustrated in FIGS. 1A to1C can be fabricated.

This embodiment can be combined as appropriate with any of the otherembodiments in this specification.

Embodiment 3

In this embodiment, a transistor having a structure different from thatof the transistor described in Embodiment 1 is described.

FIGS. 14A, 14B, and 14C are a top view and cross-sectional views of atransistor of one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 14A is thetop view, FIG. 14B is a cross section taken along the dashed-dotted lineA-B in FIG. 14A, and FIG. 14C is a cross section taken along thedashed-dotted line C-D in FIG. 14A. Note that for simplification of thedrawing, some components are not illustrated in the top view of FIG.14A. The dashed-dotted line A-B direction is referred to as a channellength direction and the dashed-dotted line C-D direction is referred toas a channel width direction, in some cases.

A transistor 550 illustrated in FIGS. 14A to 14C includes the baseinsulating film 402 over the substrate 400; the first oxide film 404 aand the oxide semiconductor film 404 b over the base insulating film402; the source electrode 406 a and the drain electrode 406 b over thefirst oxide film 404 a and the oxide semiconductor film 404 b; thesecond oxide film 404 c over the oxide semiconductor film 404 b, thesource electrode 406 a, and the drain electrode 406 b; the gateinsulating film 408 over the second oxide film 404 c; the gate electrode410 over the gate insulating film 408; a barrier film 414 over thesource electrode 406 a, the drain electrode 406 b, the second oxide film404 c, and the gate electrode 410; a sidewall insulating film 416covering side surfaces of the first oxide film 404 a, the oxidesemiconductor film 404 b, the source electrode 406 a, and the drainelectrode 406 b with the barrier film 414 positioned between thesidewall insulating film 416 and the side surfaces; a sidewallinsulating film 418 covering side surfaces of the second oxide film 404c, the gate insulating film 408, and the gate electrode 410 with thebarrier film 414 positioned between the sidewall insulating film 418 andthe side surfaces; the oxide insulating film 412 over the sourceelectrode 406 a, the drain electrode 406 b, the gate electrode 410, thesidewall insulating film 416, and the sidewall insulating film 418; anelectrode 419 a and an electrode 419 b which are embedded in openingsformed in the oxide insulating film 412 and electrically connected tothe source electrode 406 a and the drain electrode 406 b, respectively,via the openings; and a wiring 420 a and a wiring 420 b which areelectrically connected to the electrode 419 a and the electrode 419 b,respectively. The first oxide film 404 a, the oxide semiconductor film404 b, and the second oxide film 404 c are collectively referred to asthe multilayer film 404.

The oxide semiconductor film 404 b has rounded end portions and asemicircle shape. With this structure, the coverage with the gateinsulating film 408 and the gate electrode 410, which are to be formedover the oxide semiconductor film 404 b, can be improved.

The barrier film 414 is preferably formed with an insulating film thathas a blocking effect against hydrogen, water, and oxygen. Typically, analuminum oxide film is used. The aluminum oxide film is an insulatingfilm having not only a blocking effect but also a function of supplyingoxygen. An aluminum oxide film containing silicon oxide, which is formedusing a target in which an aluminum oxide and silicon oxide are mixed,can be used. In that case, the content of silicon oxide is preferablygreater than or equal to 0.1 wt % and less than or equal to 30 wt %.

Although the barrier film 414 in contact with the side surfaces of themultilayer film 404 and the gate electrode 410 might have poor coverage,the portions with poor coverage are covered with the sidewall insulatingfilm 416 and the sidewall insulating film 418, so that hydrogen, water,and oxygen can be blocked. For the sidewall insulating film 416 and thesidewall insulating film 418, materials similar to those for the baseinsulating film 402 and the gate insulating film 408 can be used.

The electrode 419 a and the electrode 419 b are electrically connectedto the source electrode 406 a and the drain electrode 406 b,respectively. The wiring 420 a and the wiring 420 b are electricallyconnected to the electrode 419 a and the electrode 419 b, respectively.In a microfabrication process, when openings are formed in the oxideinsulating film 412 and the wiring 420 a and the wiring 420 b are formedto be electrically connected to the source electrode 406 a and the drainelectrode 406 b via the openings, the wiring 420 a and the wiring 420 bdo not reach the bottoms of the openings, so that the wiring 420 a andthe wiring 420 b cannot be electrically connected to the sourceelectrode 406 a and the drain electrode 406 b, respectively. For thisreason, it is necessary that the openings be filled with the electrode419 a and the electrode 419 b, and then the wiring 420 a and the wiring420 b be formed. Note that in the case where a materials which enablethe wiring 420 a and the wiring 420 b to be in contact with the sourceelectrode 406 a and the drain electrode 406 b, respectively is used, theelectrode 419 a and the electrode 419 a are not necessary.

For the electrode 419 a, the electrode 419 b, the wiring 420 a, and thewiring 420 b, materials similar to those for the source electrode 406 a,the drain electrode 406 b, and the gate electrode 410 can be used.

A structure of a transistor 560 illustrated in FIG. 18A in which thesidewall insulating film 416 is not provided may be employed.Alternatively, a structure of a transistor 570 illustrated in FIG. 18Bin which the sidewall insulating film 416 and the sidewall insulatingfilm 418 are not provided may be employed.

Still alternatively, a structure of a transistor 580 illustrated in FIG.18C in which the electrode 419 a and the electrode 419 b are extendedinto the source electrode 406 a and the drain electrode 406 b may beemployed.

This embodiment can be combined as appropriate with any of the otherembodiments in this specification.

Embodiment 4

In this embodiment, a method for forming the transistor 550, which isdescribed in Embodiment 3 with reference to FIGS. 14A to 14C, isdescribed with reference to FIGS. 15A to 15C, 16A to 16C, and FIGS. 17Ato 17C.

First, the base insulating film 402, a first oxide film 403 a, and anoxide semiconductor film 403 b are formed over the substrate 400 (seeFIG. 15A). The above embodiments can be referred to for materials andformation methods of the substrate 400, the base insulating film 402,the first oxide film 403 a, and the oxide semiconductor film 403 b.

A conductive film to be the source electrode 406 a and the drainelectrode 406 b is formed over the oxide semiconductor film 403 b. Theconductive film is etched in a region overlapping with a region where achannel is to be formed, whereby a conductive film 405 a and aconductive film 405 b are formed (see FIG. 15B). The above embodimentscan be referred to for materials and formation methods of the conductivefilm to be the source electrode 406 a and the drain electrode 406 b.

Next, a resist mask is formed over the conductive film 405 a and theconductive film 405 b, and the first oxide film 403 a, the oxidesemiconductor film 403 b, the conductive film 405 a, and the conductivefilm 405 b are selectively etched, whereby the first oxide film 404 a,the oxide semiconductor film 404 b, the source electrode 406 a, and thedrain electrode 406 b are formed (see FIG. 15C). At this time, theresist, which is formed to be thin and minute, is gradually reduced insize as the etching progresses; as a result, the end portions of thesource electrode 406 a and the drain electrode 406 b become round andcurved in some cases. With this structure, the coverage with the secondoxide film 404 c, the gate insulating film 408, the gate electrode 410,and the oxide insulating film 412, which are to be formed over thesource electrode 406 a and the drain electrode 406 b, can be improved;thus, occurrence of a shape defect such as disconnection can beinhibited.

Then, the second oxide film 403 c and the insulating film 407 are formedover the first oxide film 404 a, the oxide semiconductor film 404 b, thesource electrode 406 a, and the drain electrode 406 b (see FIG. 16A).Embodiments 1 to 3 can be referred to for materials and formationmethods of the second oxide film 403 c and the insulating film 407.

Note that second heat treatment may be performed after the second oxidefilm 403 c is formed. The second heat treatment can be performed underconditions similar to those of the first heat treatment. The second heattreatment can remove impurities such as hydrogen and water from thesecond oxide film 404 c. In addition, impurities such as hydrogen andwater can be further removed from the first oxide film 404 a and theoxide semiconductor film 404 b.

A second conductive film to be the gate electrode 410 is formed over theinsulating film 407, and is selectively etched using a resist mask toform the gate electrode 410 (see FIG. 16B). Embodiments 1 to 3 can bereferred to for a material and a method of forming the gate electrode410.

Then, the insulating film 407 is selectively etched using the resistmask or the gate electrode 410 as a mask to form the gate insulatingfilm 408.

Subsequently, the second oxide film 403 c is etched using the resistmask or the gate electrode 410 as a mask to form the second oxide film404 c.

Next, the barrier film 414 is formed over the base insulating film 402,the source electrode 406 a, the drain electrode 406 b, and the gateelectrode 410 (see FIG. 16C).

The barrier film 414 is an insulating film having a blocking effectagainst hydrogen, water, and oxygen, so that oxygen contained in themultilayer film 404, the base insulating film 402, and the gateinsulating film 408 can be prevented from diffusing to the outside;thus, oxygen can be efficiently supplied to the oxide semiconductor filmand oxygen vacancies can be reduced, resulting in excellent electriccharacteristics. Therefore, a highly reliable semiconductor device canbe provided.

Next, an insulating film to be the sidewall insulating film 416 and thesidewall insulating film 418 is provided and subjected to highlyanisotropic etching treatment, whereby the sidewall insulating film 416and the sidewall insulating film 418 can be formed on side surfaces ofthe multilayer film 404, the source electrode 406 a, the drain electrode406 b, the gate insulating film 408, and the gate electrode 410 with thebarrier film 414 positioned between the sidewall insulating film 416 or418 and the side surfaces (see FIG. 17A).

Next, the oxide insulating film 412 is formed over the barrier film 414(see FIG. 17B). Embodiments 1 to 3 can be referred to for materials andformation methods of the oxide insulating film 412.

Next, third heat treatment may be performed. The third heat treatmentcan be performed under conditions similar to those of the first heattreatment. By the third heat treatment, excess oxygen is easily releasedfrom the base insulating film 402, the gate insulating film 408, and theoxide insulating film 412, so that oxygen vacancies in the multilayerfilm 404 can be reduced.

Next, openings are formed in the oxide insulating film 412 and thebarrier film 414, and the electrode 419 a and the electrode 419 belectrically connected to the source electrode 406 a and the drainelectrode 406 b, respectively, via the openings are formed over theoxide insulating film 412 and in the openings.

The electrode 419 a and the electrode 419 b are embedded in the openingsin such a manner that a conductive film to be the electrode 419 a andthe electrode 419 b is formed over the oxide insulating film 412 and inthe openings, and removing (polishing) treatment is performed on theconductive film to remove part of the conductive film and expose theoxide insulating film 412 (see FIG. 17C).

For the removing treatment, chemical mechanical polishing (CMP)treatment is preferably used.

Note that in this embodiment, the CMP treatment is employed to removepart of the conductive film; however, another removing treatment may beemployed. Alternatively, the polishing treatment such as the CMPtreatment may be combined with etching (dry etching or wet etching)treatment or plasma treatment. For example, after the CMP treatment, dryetching treatment or plasma treatment (e.g., reverse sputtering) may beperformed in order to improve the flatness of a surface to be processed.In the case where in the removing treatment, the etching treatment, theplasma treatment, or the like is combined with the CMP treatment, theorder of steps is not particularly limited and may be set as appropriatedepending on the materials, the film thicknesses, and the surfaceroughness of the conductive film. Alternatively, a large part of theconductive film may be removed by CMP treatment and the other part ofthe conductive film may be removed by dry etching treatment.

Note that the CMP treatment may be performed only once or plural times.In the case where the CMP treatment is performed plural times, firstpolishing is preferably performed with a high polishing rate followed byfinal polishing with a low polishing rate. By performing polishing stepswith different polishing rates in combination, the surface of theconductive film (the electrode 419 a and the electrode 419 b) can befurther improved.

Next, the wiring 420 a and the wiring 420 b electrically connected tothe electrode 419 a and the electrode 419 b, respectively, are formedover the oxide insulating film 412, the electrode 419 a, and theelectrode 419 b (see FIG. 14B).

Through the above process, the transistor 550 illustrated in FIGS. 14Ato 14C can be fabricated.

This embodiment can be combined as appropriate with any of the otherembodiments in this specification.

Embodiment 5

In this embodiment, an example of a circuit including the transistor ofone embodiment of the present invention is described with reference tothe drawings.

FIG. 19A is a circuit diagram of a semiconductor device and FIGS. 19Cand 19D are each a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor device. FIGS.19C and 19D each illustrate a cross-sectional view of the transistor 450in a channel length direction on the left and a cross-sectional view ofthe transistor 450 in a channel width direction on the right. In thecircuit diagram, “OS” is written beside a transistor in order to clearlydemonstrate that the transistor includes an oxide semiconductor.

The semiconductor devices illustrated in FIGS. 19C and 19D each includea transistor 2200 containing a first semiconductor material in a lowerportion and a transistor containing a second semiconductor material inan upper portion. Here, an example is described in which the transistor450 described in Embodiment 1 as an example is used as the transistorcontaining the second semiconductor material.

Here, the first semiconductor material and the second semiconductormaterial preferably have different energy gaps. For example, the firstsemiconductor material may be a semiconductor material (e.g., silicon,germanium, silicon germanium, silicon carbide, or gallium arsenic) otherthan an oxide semiconductor, and the second semiconductor material maybe the oxide semiconductor described in Embodiment 1. A transistorincluding single crystal silicon or the like as a material other than anoxide semiconductor can operate at high speed easily. In contrast, atransistor including an oxide semiconductor has the low off-statecurrent.

Although the transistor 2200 is a p-channel transistor here, it isneedless to say that an n-channel transistor can be used to form acircuit having a different configuration. The specific structure of thesemiconductor device, such as a material used for the semiconductordevice and the structure of the semiconductor device, does not need tobe limited to that described here except for the use of the transistordescribed in Embodiment 1, which is formed using an oxide semiconductor.

FIGS. 19A, 19C, and 19D each illustrate a configuration example of whatis called a CMOS circuit, in which a p-channel transistor and ann-channel transistor are connected in series and gates of thetransistors are connected.

The transistor using an oxide semiconductor of one embodiment of thepresent invention has high on-state current, which can achievehigh-speed operation of a circuit.

In the structure illustrated in FIG. 19C, the transistor 450 is providedover the transistor 2200 with an insulating film 2201 positionedtherebetween. Wirings 2202 are provided between the transistor 2200 andthe transistor 450. Wirings and electrodes over and under insulatingfilms are electrically connected via plugs 2203 embedded in theinsulating films. An insulating film 2204 covering the transistor 450, awiring 2205 over the insulating film 2204, and a wiring 2206 formed byprocessing the same conductive film as the pair of electrodes of thetransistor 450 are provided.

By stacking two transistors in the above manner, an area occupied by acircuit can be reduced; accordingly, a plurality of circuits can bearranged in high density.

In FIG. 19C, one of the source and the drain of the transistor 450 iselectrically connected to one of a source and a drain of the transistor2200 via the wiring 2202 and the plug 2203. The gate of the transistor450 is electrically connected to a gate of the transistor 2200 via thewiring 2205, the wiring 2206, the plug 2203, the wiring 2202, and thelike.

In the configuration illustrated in FIG. 19D, an opening portion inwhich the plug 2203 is embedded is provided in a gate insulating layerof the transistor 450, and the gate of the transistor 450 is in contactwith the plug 2203. Such a configuration makes it possible to achievethe integration of the circuit easily and to make the lengths and thenumber of wirings and plugs to be smaller than those in theconfiguration illustrated in FIG. 19C; thus, the circuit can operate athigher speed.

Note that when a connection between the electrodes of the transistor 450and the transistor 2200 is changed from that in the configurationillustrated in FIG. 19C or FIG. 19D, a variety of circuits can beformed. For example, a circuit having a configuration in which a sourceand a drain of a transistor are connected to those of another transistoras illustrated in FIG. 19B can operate as what is called an analogswitch.

A semiconductor device having an image sensor function for reading dataof an object can be fabricated with the use of the transistor describedin any of the above embodiments.

FIG. 24 illustrates an example of an equivalent circuit of asemiconductor device having an image sensor function.

In a photodiode 602, one electrode is electrically connected to aphotodiode reset signal line 658, and the other electrode iselectrically connected to a gate of a transistor 640. One of a sourceand a drain of the transistor 640 is electrically connected to aphotosensor reference signal line 672, and the other of the source andthe drain thereof is electrically connected to one of a source and adrain of a transistor 656. A gate of the transistor 656 is electricallyconnected to a gate signal line 659, and the other of the source and thedrain thereof is electrically connected to a photosensor output signalline 671.

As the photodiode 602, for example, a pin photodiode in which asemiconductor layer having p-type conductivity, a high-resistancesemiconductor layer (semiconductor layer having i-type conductivity),and a semiconductor layer having n-type conductivity are stacked can beused.

With detection of light that enters the photodiode 602, data of anobject can be read. Note that a light source such as a backlight can beused at the time of reading data of an object.

As each of the transistor 640 and the transistor 656, the transistor inwhich a channel is formed in an oxide semiconductor, which is describedin any of the above embodiments, can be used. In FIG. 24, “OS” iswritten beside the transistor 640 and the transistor 656 so that thetransistors 640 and 656 can be identified as transistors including anoxide semiconductor.

It is preferable that each of the transistor 640 and the transistor 656be one of the transistors described in the above embodiments, in whichthe oxide semiconductor film is electrically covered with the gateelectrode. Since the oxide semiconductor film has round top end portionsand a curved surface, coverage with a film formed over the oxidesemiconductor film can be improved. In addition, electric fieldconcentration which might occur at end portions of the source electrodeand the drain electrode can be reduced, which can suppress deteriorationof the transistor. Therefore, variation in the electric characteristicsof the transistor 640 and the transistor 656 is suppressed, and thetransistor 640 and the transistor 656 are electrically stable. Thesemiconductor device having an image sensor function illustrated in FIG.24 can have high reliability by including the transistor.

This embodiment can be combined as appropriate with any of the otherembodiments in this specification.

Embodiment 6

In this embodiment, an example of a semiconductor device (storagedevice) which includes the transistor of one embodiment of the presentinvention, which can retain stored data even when not powered, and whichhas an unlimited number of write cycles is described with reference todrawings.

FIG. 20 is a circuit diagram of the semiconductor device.

The semiconductor device illustrated in FIG. 20 includes a transistor3200 including a first semiconductor material, a transistor 3300including a second semiconductor material, and a capacitor 3400. Notethat the transistor described in Embodiment 1 can be used as thetransistor 3300.

The transistor 3300 is a top-gate transistor in which a channel isformed in a semiconductor layer including an oxide semiconductor. Sincethe off-state current of the transistor 3300 is low, stored data can beretained for a long period owing to such a transistor. In other words,refresh operation becomes unnecessary or the frequency of the refreshoperation in a semiconductor storage device can be extremely low, whichleads to a sufficient reduction in power consumption.

In FIG. 20, a first wiring 3001 is electrically connected to a sourceelectrode of the transistor 3200. A second wiring 3002 is electricallyconnected to a drain electrode of the transistor 3200. A third wiring3003 is electrically connected to one of the source electrode and thedrain electrode of the transistor 3300. A fourth wiring 3004 iselectrically connected to the gate electrode of the transistor 3300. Thegate electrode of the transistor 3200 and the other of the sourceelectrode and the drain electrode of the transistor 3300 areelectrically connected to the one electrode of the capacitor 3400. Afifth wiring 3005 is electrically connected to the other electrode ofthe capacitor 3400.

The semiconductor device in FIG. 20 utilizes a feature that thepotential of the gate electrode of the transistor 3200 can be retained,and thus enables writing, retaining, and reading of data as follows.

Writing and retaining of data are described. First, the potential of thefourth wiring 3004 is set to a potential at which the transistor 3300 isturned on, so that the transistor 3300 is turned on. Accordingly, thepotential of the third wiring 3003 is supplied to the gate electrode ofthe transistor 3200 and the capacitor 3400. That is, a predeterminedcharge is supplied to the gate electrode of the transistor 3200(writing). Here, one of two kinds of charges providing differentpotential levels (hereinafter referred to as a low-level charge and ahigh-level charge) is supplied. After that, the potential of the fourthwiring 3004 is set to a potential at which the transistor 3300 is turnedoff, so that the transistor 3300 is turned off. Thus, the chargesupplied to the gate electrode of the transistor 3200 is retained(retaining).

Since the off-state current of the transistor 3300 is extremely low, thecharge of the gate electrode of the transistor 3200 is retained for along time.

Next, reading of data is described. An appropriate potential (a readingpotential) is supplied to the fifth wiring 3005 while a predeterminedpotential (a constant potential) is supplied to the first wiring 3001,whereby the potential of the second wiring 3002 varies depending on theamount of charge retained in the gate electrode of the transistor 3200.This is because in general, in the case of using an n-channel transistoras the transistor 3200, an apparent threshold voltage V_(th) _(_) _(H)at the time when the high-level charge is given to the gate electrode ofthe transistor 3200 is lower than an apparent threshold voltage V_(th)_(_) _(L) at the time when the low-level charge is given to the gateelectrode of the transistor 3200. Here, an apparent threshold voltagerefers to the potential of the fifth wiring 3005 which is needed to turnon the transistor 3200. Thus, the potential of the fifth wiring 3005 isset to a potential V₀ which is between V_(th) _(_) _(H) and V_(th) _(_)_(L), whereby charge supplied to the gate electrode of the transistor3200 can be determined. For example, in the case where the high-levelcharge is supplied in writing and the potential of the fifth wiring 3005is V₀ (>V_(th) _(_) _(H)), the transistor 3200 is turned on. In the casewhere the low-level charge is supplied in writing, even when thepotential of the fifth wiring 3005 is V₀ (<V_(th) _(_) _(L)), thetransistor 3200 remains off. Thus, the data retained in the gateelectrode can be read by determining the potential of the second wiring3002.

Note that in the case where memory cells are arrayed, it is necessarythat only data of a desired memory cell be able to be read. The fifthwiring 3005 in the case where data is not read may be supplied with apotential at which the transistor 3200 is turned off regardless of thestate of the gate electrode, that is, a potential lower than V_(th) _(_)_(H). Alternatively, the fifth wiring 3005 may be supplied with apotential at which the transistor 3200 is turned on regardless of thestate of the gate electrode, that is, a potential higher than V_(th)_(_) _(L).

When including a transistor having a channel formation region formedusing an oxide semiconductor and having an extremely low off-statecurrent, the semiconductor device described in this embodiment canretain stored data for an extremely long time. In other words, refreshoperation becomes unnecessary or the frequency of the refresh operationcan be extremely low, which leads to a sufficient reduction in powerconsumption. Moreover, stored data can be retained for a long time evenwhen power is not supplied (note that a potential is preferably fixed).

Further, in the semiconductor device described in this embodiment, highvoltage is not needed for writing data and there is no problem ofdeterioration of elements. Unlike in a conventional nonvolatile memory,for example, it is not necessary to inject and extract electrons intoand from a floating gate; thus, a problem such as deterioration of agate insulating layer does not occur. That is, the semiconductor deviceof the disclosed invention does not have a limit on the number of timesdata can be rewritten, which is a problem of a conventional nonvolatilememory, and the reliability thereof is drastically improved.Furthermore, data is written depending on the state of the transistor(on or off), whereby high-speed operation can be easily achieved.

As described above, a miniaturized and highly integrated semiconductordevice having high electrical characteristics can be provided.

Embodiment 7

In this embodiment, a CPU in which the transistor described in any ofthe above embodiments can be used and the storage device described inthe above embodiment is included is described.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a CPUat least partly including the transistor described in Embodiment 1.

The CPU illustrated in FIG. 21 includes, over a substrate 1190, anarithmetic logic unit (ALU) 1191, an ALU controller 1192, an instructiondecoder 1193, an interrupt controller 1194, a timing controller 1195, aregister 1196, a register controller 1197, a bus interface 1198, arewritable ROM 1199, and an ROM interface 1189. A semiconductorsubstrate, an SOI substrate, a glass substrate, or the like is used asthe substrate 1190. The rewritable ROM 1199 and the ROM interface 1189may be provided over a separate chip. Needless to say, the CPU in FIG.21 is just an example in which the configuration has been simplified,and an actual CPU may have various configurations depending on theapplication. For example, the CPU may have the following configuration:a structure including the CPU illustrated in FIG. 21 or an arithmeticcircuit is considered as one core; a plurality of the cores is included;and the cores operate in parallel. The number of bits that the CPU canprocess in an internal arithmetic circuit or in a data bus can be 8, 16,32, or 64, for example.

An instruction that is input to the CPU through the bus interface 1198is input to the instruction decoder 1193 and decoded therein, and then,input to the ALU controller 1192, the interrupt controller 1194, theregister controller 1197, and the timing controller 1195.

The ALU controller 1192, the interrupt controller 1194, the registercontroller 1197, and the timing controller 1195 conduct various controlsin accordance with the decoded instruction. Specifically, the ALUcontroller 1192 generates signals for controlling the operation of theALU 1191. While the CPU is executing a program, the interrupt controller1194 judges an interrupt request from an external input/output device ora peripheral circuit on the basis of its priority or a mask state, andprocesses the request. The register controller 1197 generates an addressof the register 1196, and reads/writes data from/to the register 1196 inaccordance with the state of the CPU.

The timing controller 1195 generates signals for controlling operationtimings of the ALU 1191, the ALU controller 1192, the instructiondecoder 1193, the interrupt controller 1194, and the register controller1197. For example, the timing controller 1195 includes an internal clockgenerator for generating an internal clock signal CLK2 based on areference clock signal CLK1, and supplies the internal clock signal CLK2to the above circuits.

In the CPU illustrated in FIG. 21, a memory cell is provided in theregister 1196. As the memory cell of the register 1196, the transistordescribed in the above embodiment can be used.

In the CPU illustrated in FIG. 21, the register controller 1197 selectsoperation of retaining data in the register 1196 in accordance with aninstruction from the ALU 1191. That is, the register controller 1197selects whether data is retained by a flip-flop or by a capacitor in thememory cell included in the register 1196. When data retaining by theflip-flop is selected, a power supply voltage is supplied to the memorycell in the register 1196. When data retaining by the capacitor isselected, the data is rewritten in the capacitor, and supply of powersupply voltage to the memory cell in the register 1196 can be stopped.

FIG. 22 is an example of a circuit diagram of a storage element that canbe used as the register 1196. A memory element 700 includes a circuit701 in which stored data is volatile when power supply is stopped, acircuit 702 in which stored data is nonvolatile when power supply isstopped, a switch 703, a switch 704, a logic element 706, a capacitor707, and a circuit 720 having a selecting function. The circuit 702includes a capacitor 708, a transistor 709, and a transistor 710. Notethat the memory element 700 may further include another element such asa diode, a resistor, or an inductor, as needed.

Here, the storage device described in the above embodiment can be usedas the circuit 702. When supply of the power supply voltage to thememory element 700 is stopped, a ground potential (0 V) or a potentialat which the transistor 709 in the circuit 702 is turned off continuesto be input to a first gate of the transistor 709. For example, thefirst gate of the transistor 709 is grounded through a load such as aresistor.

An example in which the switch 703 is a transistor 713 having oneconductivity type (e.g., an n-channel transistor) and the switch 704 isa transistor 714 having a conductivity type opposite to the oneconductivity type (e.g., a p-channel transistor) is described. Here, afirst terminal of the switch 703 corresponds to one of a source and adrain of the transistor 713, a second terminal of the switch 703corresponds to the other of the source and the drain of the transistor713, and conduction or non-conduction between the first terminal and thesecond terminal of the switch 703 (i.e., the on/off state of thetransistor 713) is selected by a control signal RD input to a gate ofthe transistor 713. A first terminal of the switch 704 corresponds toone of a source and a drain of the transistor 714, a second terminal ofthe switch 704 corresponds to the other of the source and the drain ofthe transistor 714, and conduction or non-conduction between the firstterminal and the second terminal of the switch 704 (i.e., the on/offstate of the transistor 714) is selected by the control signal RD inputto a gate of the transistor 714.

One of a source and a drain of the transistor 709 is electricallyconnected to one of a pair of electrodes of the capacitor 708 and a gateof the transistor 710. Here, the connection portion is referred to as anode M2. One of a source and a drain of the transistor 710 iselectrically connected to a line which can supply a low power supplypotential (e.g., a GND line), and the other thereof is electricallyconnected to the first terminal of the switch 703 (the one of the sourceand the drain of the transistor 713). The second terminal of the switch703 (the other of the source and the drain of the transistor 713) iselectrically connected to the first terminal of the switch 704 (the oneof the source and the drain of the transistor 714). The second terminalof the switch 704 (the other of the source and the drain of thetransistor 714) is electrically connected to a line which can supply apower supply potential VDD. The second terminal of the switch 703 (theother of the source and the drain of the transistor 713), the firstterminal of the switch 704 (the one of the source and the drain of thetransistor 714), an input terminal of the logic element 706, and one ofa pair of electrodes of the capacitor 707 are electrically connected toeach other. Here, the connection portion is referred to as a node M1.The other of the pair of electrodes of the capacitor 707 can be suppliedwith a constant potential. For example, the other of the pair ofelectrodes of the capacitor 707 can be supplied with a low power supplypotential (e.g., GND) or a high power supply potential (e.g., VDD). Theother of the pair of electrodes of the capacitor 707 is electricallyconnected to the line which can supply a low power supply potential(e.g., a GND line). The other of the pair of electrodes of the capacitor708 can be supplied with a constant potential. For example, the other ofthe pair of electrodes of the capacitor 708 can be supplied with the lowpower supply potential (e.g., GND) or the high power supply potential(e.g., VDD). The other of the pair of electrodes of the capacitor 708 iselectrically connected to the line which can supply a low power supplypotential (e.g., a GND line).

The capacitor 707 and the capacitor 708 are not necessarily provided aslong as the parasitic capacitance of the transistor, the wiring, or thelike is actively utilized.

A control signal WE is input to the first gate (first gate electrode) ofthe transistor 709. As for each of the switch 703 and the switch 704, aconduction state or a non-conduction state between the first terminaland the second terminal is selected by the control signal RD which isdifferent from the control signal WE. When the first terminal and thesecond terminal of one of the switches are in the conduction state, thefirst terminal and the second terminal of the other of the switches arein the non-conduction state.

A signal corresponding to data retained in the circuit 701 is input tothe other of the source and the drain of the transistor 709. FIG. 22illustrates an example in which a signal output from the circuit 701 isinput to the other of the source and the drain of the transistor 709.The logic value of a signal output from the second terminal of theswitch 703 (the other of the source and the drain of the transistor 713)is inverted by the logic element 706, and the inverted signal is inputto the circuit 701 through the circuit 720.

In the example of FIG. 22, a signal output from the second terminal ofthe switch 703 (the other of the source and the drain of the transistor713) is input to the circuit 701 through the logic element 706 and thecircuit 720; however, this embodiment is not limited thereto. The signaloutput from the second terminal of the switch 703 (the other of thesource and the drain of the transistor 713) may be input to the circuit701 without its logic value being inverted. For example, in the casewhere a node in which a signal obtained by inversion of the logic valueof a signal input from the input terminal is retained is provided in thecircuit 701, the signal output from the second terminal of the switch703 (the other of the source and the drain of the transistor 713) can beinput to the node.

As the transistor 709 in FIG. 22, the transistor described in Embodiment1 can be used. As described in Embodiment 3, the transistor 709preferably includes a second gate (second gate electrode). The controlsignal WE can be input to the first gate and the control signal WE2 canbe input to the second gate. The control signal WE2 is a signal having aconstant potential. As the constant potential, for example, a groundpotential GND or a potential lower than a source potential of thetransistor 709 is selected. The control signal WE2 is a potential signalfor controlling the threshold voltage of the transistor 709, and Icut ofthe transistor 709 can be further reduced. Note that as the transistor709, the transistor without the second gate can be used.

Further, in FIG. 22, the transistors included in the memory element 700except for the transistor 709 can each be a transistor in which achannel is formed in a layer formed using a semiconductor other than anoxide semiconductor or in the substrate 1190. For example, a transistorin which a channel is formed in a silicon layer or a silicon substratecan be used. Alternatively, a transistor in which a channel is formed inan oxide semiconductor film can be used for all the transistors used forthe memory element 700. Further alternatively, in the memory element700, a transistor in which a channel is formed in an oxide semiconductorfilm can be included besides the transistor 709, and a transistor inwhich a channel is formed in a layer or the substrate 1190 including asemiconductor other than an oxide semiconductor can be used for the restof the transistors.

As the circuit 701 in FIG. 22, for example, a flip-flop circuit can beused. As the logic element 706, for example, an inverter, a clockedinverter, or the like can be used.

The semiconductor device of one embodiment of the present invention can,in a period during which the memory element 700 is not supplied with thepower supply voltage, retain data stored in the circuit 701 by thecapacitor 708 which is provided in the circuit 702.

The off-state current of a transistor in which a channel is formed in anoxide semiconductor film is extremely low. For example, the off-statecurrent of a transistor in which a channel is formed in an oxidesemiconductor film is significantly lower than that of a transistor inwhich a channel is formed in silicon having crystallinity. Thus, whensuch a transistor including an oxide semiconductor is used for thetransistor 709, a signal held in the capacitor 708 is retained for along time also in a period during which the power supply voltage is notsupplied to the memory element 700. The memory element 700 canaccordingly retain the stored content (data) also in a period duringwhich the supply of the power supply voltage is stopped.

Since the switch 703 and the switch 704 are provided, the memory elementperforms pre-charge operation; thus, the time required for the circuit701 to retain original data again after the supply of the power supplyvoltage is restarted can be shortened.

In the circuit 702, a signal retained by the capacitor 708 is input tothe gate of the transistor 710. Therefore, after supply of the powersupply voltage to the memory element 700 is restarted, the signalretained by the capacitor 708 can be converted into the onecorresponding to the state (the on state or the off state) of thetransistor 710 to be read from the circuit 702. Consequently, anoriginal signal can be accurately read even when a potentialcorresponding to the signal retained by the capacitor 708 fluctuates tosome degree.

By applying the above-described memory element 700 to a storage devicesuch as a register or a cache memory included in a processor, data inthe storage device can be prevented from being lost owing to the stop ofthe supply of the power supply voltage. Further, shortly after thesupply of the power supply voltage is restarted, the storage device canbe returned to the same state as that before the power supply isstopped. Thus, the power supply can be stopped even for a short time inthe processor or one or a plurality of logic circuits included in theprocessor. Accordingly, power consumption can be suppressed.

Although an example in which the storage element 700 is used in a CPU isdescribed in this embodiment, the storage element 700 can also be usedin a digital signal processor (DSP), a custom LSI, an LSI such as aprogrammable logic device (PLD), and a radio frequency identification(RF-ID).

This embodiment can be combined as appropriate with any of the otherembodiments in this specification.

Embodiment 8

In this embodiment, examples of an electronic device which can includethe transistor described in Embodiment 1, the storage device describedin Embodiment 5 or 6, or the CPU and the like (including a DSP, a customLSI, a PLD, and an RF-ID) described in Embodiment 7 is described.

The transistor described in Embodiment 1, the storage device describedin Embodiment 5 or 6, and the CPU and the like described in Embodiment 7can be applied to a variety of electronic devices (including gamemachines). Examples of the electronic devices include display devices oftelevisions, monitors, and the like, lighting devices, personalcomputers, word processors, image reproduction devices, portable audioplayers, radios, tape recorders, stereos, phones, cordless phones,mobile phones, car phones, transceivers, wireless devices, gamemachines, calculators, portable information terminals, electronicnotebooks, e-book readers, electronic translators, audio input devices,video cameras, digital still cameras, electric shavers, IC chips,high-frequency heating appliances such as microwave ovens, electric ricecookers, electric washing machines, electric vacuum cleaners,air-conditioning systems such as air conditioners, dishwashers, dishdryers, clothes dryers, futon dryers, electric refrigerators, electricfreezers, electric refrigerator-freezers, freezers for preserving DNA,radiation counters, and medical equipment such as dialyzers and X-raydiagnostic equipment. In addition, the examples of the electronicdevices include alarm devices such as smoke detectors, heat detectors,gas alarm devices, and security alarm devices. Further, the examples ofthe electronic devices also include industrial equipment such as guidelights, traffic lights, belt conveyors, elevators, escalators,industrial robots, and power storage systems. In addition, movingobjects and the like driven by fuel engines and electric motors usingpower from non-aqueous secondary batteries are also included in thecategory of electronic devices. Examples of the moving objects includeelectric vehicles (EV), hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) which includeboth an internal-combustion engine and a motor, plug-in hybrid electricvehicles (PHEV), tracked vehicles in which caterpillar tracks aresubstituted for wheels of these vehicles, motorized bicycles includingmotor-assisted bicycles, motorcycles, electric wheelchairs, golf carts,boats or ships, submarines, helicopters, aircrafts, rockets, artificialsatellites, space probes, planetary probes, and spacecraft. Somespecific examples of these electronic devices are illustrated in FIGS.23A to 23C.

In a television set 8000 illustrated in FIG. 23A, a display portion 8002is incorporated in a housing 8001. The display portion 8002 can displayan image and a speaker portion 8003 can output sound. Any of thetransistors described in the above embodiments can be used in a pixel ora driver circuit for operating the display portion 8002 incorporated inthe housing 8001.

A semiconductor display device such as a liquid crystal display device,a light-emitting device in which a light-emitting element such as anorganic EL element is provided in each pixel, an electrophoretic displaydevice, a digital micromirror device (DMD), or a plasma display panel(PDP) can be used for the display portion 8002.

The television set 8000 may be provided with a receiver, a modem, andthe like. With the receiver, a general television broadcast can bereceived. Furthermore, when the television set 8000 is connected to acommunication network by wired or wireless connection via the modem,one-way (from a transmitter to a receiver) or two-way (between atransmitter and a receiver, between receivers, or the like) datacommunication can be performed.

In addition, the television set 8000 may include a CPU 8004 forperforming information communication or a memory. Any of thetransistors, the memory device, and the CPU described in the aboveembodiments is used for the CPU 8004 or the memory, whereby powerconsumption can be reduced.

An alarm device 8100 illustrated in FIG. 23A is a residential firealarm, which is an example of an electronic device including a sensorportion 8102 for smoke or heat and a microcomputer 8101. Note that themicrocomputer 8101 includes the transistor, the storage device, or theCPU described in any of the above embodiments.

An air conditioner which includes an indoor unit 8200 and an outdoorunit 8204 illustrated in FIG. 23A is an example of an electronic deviceincluding the transistor, the storage device, the CPU, or the likedescribed in any of the above embodiments. Specifically, the indoor unit8200 includes a housing 8201, an air outlet 8202, a CPU 8203, and thelike. Although the CPU 8203 is provided in the indoor unit 8200 in FIG.23A, the CPU 8203 may be provided in the outdoor unit 8204.Alternatively, the CPU 8203 may be provided in both the indoor unit 8200and the outdoor unit 8204. By using any of the transistors described inthe above embodiments for the CPU in the air conditioner, a reduction inpower consumption of the air conditioner can be achieved.

An electronic refrigerator-freezer 8300 illustrated in FIG. 23A is anexample of an electronic device including the transistor, the storagedevice, the CPU, or the like described in any of the above embodiments.Specifically, the electric refrigerator-freezer 8300 includes a housing8301, a door for a refrigerator 8302, a door for a freezer 8303, a CPU8304, and the like. In FIG. 23A, the CPU 8304 is provided in the housing8301. When any of the transistors described in the above embodiments isused as the CPU 8304 of the electric refrigerator-freezer 8300, areduction in power consumption of the electric refrigerator-freezer 8300can be achieved.

FIGS. 23B and 23C illustrate an example of an electronic vehicle whichis an example of an electronic device. An electric vehicle 9700 isequipped with a secondary battery 9701. The output of the electric powerof the secondary battery 9701 is adjusted by a circuit 9702 and theelectric power is supplied to a driving device 9703. The circuit 9702 iscontrolled by a processing unit 9704 including a ROM, a RAM, a CPU, orthe like which is not illustrated. When any of the transistors describedin the above embodiments is used as the CPU in the electric vehicle9700, a reduction in power consumption of the electric vehicle 9700 canbe achieved.

The driving device 9703 includes a DC motor or an AC motor either aloneor in combination with an internal-combustion engine. The processingunit 9704 outputs a control signal to the circuit 9702 based on inputdata such as data of operation (e.g., acceleration, deceleration, orstop) by a driver or data during driving (e.g., data on an upgrade or adowngrade, or data on a load on a driving wheel) of the electric vehicle9700. The circuit 9702 adjusts the electric energy supplied from thesecondary battery 9701 in accordance with the control signal of theprocessing unit 9704 to control the output of the driving device 9703.In the case where the AC motor is mounted, although not illustrated, aninverter which converts a direct current into an alternate current isalso incorporated.

This embodiment can be combined as appropriate with any of the otherembodiments in this specification.

Example 1

In this example, a transistor which has the same structure as thetransistor 460 illustrated in FIG. 6A was fabricated as an examplesample and the cross section of the transistor was examined. Theelectric characteristics of the fabricated transistor was evaluated.

First, a method for fabricating the example sample is described.

First, a silicon oxynitride (SiON) film to be a base insulating film wasformed to a thickness of 300 nm over a silicon substrate. The siliconoxynitride film was formed by sputtering under the following conditions:a mixed atmosphere of argon and oxygen (argon:oxygen=25 sccm:25 sccm); apressure of 0.4 Pa; a power supply (power supply output) of 5.0 kW; adistance between the silicon substrate and a target of 60 mm; and asubstrate temperature of 100° C.

A surface of the silicon oxide film was subjected to polishingtreatment, and a 10-nm-thick first oxide film and a 40-nm-thick oxidesemiconductor film were stacked. The first oxide film was formed bysputtering using an oxide target of In:Ga:Zn=1:3:2 (atomic ratio)(IGZO(132)) under the following conditions: a mixed atmosphere of argonand oxygen (argon:oxygen=30 sccm:15 sccm); a pressure of 0.4 Pa; a powersupply of 0.5 kW; a distance between the substrate and the target of 60mm; and a substrate temperature of 200° C. The oxide semiconductor filmwas formed by sputtering using an oxide target of In:Ga:Zn=1:1:1 (atomicratio) (IGZO(111)) under the following conditions: a mixed atmosphere ofargon and oxygen (argon:oxygen=30 sccm:15 sccm); a pressure of 0.4 Pa; apower supply of 0.5 kW; a distance between the substrate and the targetof 60 mm; and a substrate temperature of 300° C. Note that the firstoxide film and the oxide semiconductor film were continuously formedwithout exposure to the air.

Next, heat treatment was performed. The heat treatment was performedunder a nitrogen atmosphere at 450° C. for one hour, and then performedunder an oxygen atmosphere at 450° C. for one hour.

A 5-nm-thick tungsten film was formed over the oxide semiconductor filmand etched to form a hard mask. An inductively coupled plasma (ICP)etching method was employed for the etching. The etching conditions wereas follows: a carbon tetrafluoride (CF₄=100 sccm) atmosphere; a powersupply of 2000 W; a bias power of 50 W; and a pressure of 0.67 Pa. Then,the etching conditions were changed as follows: a carbon tetrafluorideand oxygen (CF₄:O₂=60 sccm:40 sccm) mixed atmosphere; a power supply of1000 W; a bias power of 25 W; and a pressure of 2.0 Pa.

The first oxide film and the oxide semiconductor film were processedinto an island shape by ICP etching under the following conditions: amixed atmosphere of methane and argon (CH₄:Ar=16 sccm:32 sccm); a powersupply of 600 W; a bias power of 100 W; a pressure of 1.0 Pa; and asubstrate temperature of 70° C.

Next, a tungsten (W) film to be a source electrode and a drain electrodewas formed to a thickness of 10 nm over the first oxide film and theoxide semiconductor film. The film was formed by sputtering using atungsten target under the following conditions: an argon (80 sccm)atmosphere; a pressure of 0.8 Pa; a power supply (power supply output)of 1.0 kW; a distance between the silicon substrate and the target of 60mm; and a substrate temperature of 230° C.

Then, a resist mask was formed over the tungsten film and etching wasperformed using an ICP etching method. As the etching, first etching andsecond etching were performed. The first etching conditions were asfollows: a carbon tetrafluoride (CF₄=100 sccm) atmosphere; a powersupply of 2000 W; a bias power of 50 W; and a pressure of 0.67 Pa. Then,the second etching conditions were changed as follows: a carbontetrafluoride and oxygen (CF₄:O₂=60 sccm:40 sccm) atmosphere; a powersupply of 1000 W; a bias power of 25 W; and a pressure of 2.0 Pa. Thus,the source electrode and the drain electrode were formed.

Next, a second oxide film was formed to a thickness of 5 nm over theoxide semiconductor film, the source electrode, and the drain electrode.The film was formed by sputtering using an oxide target (IGZO(132)) ofIn:Ga:Zn=1:3:2 (atomic ratio) under the following conditions: a mixedatmosphere of argon and oxygen (argon:oxygen=30 sccm:15 sccm); apressure of 0.4 Pa; a power supply of 0.5 kW; a distance between thesubstrate and the target of 60 mm; and a substrate temperature of 200°C.

Next, a silicon oxynitride film to be a gate insulating film was formedto a thickness of 10 nm by a CVD method.

A titanium nitride film was formed to a thickness of 10 nm over thesilicon oxynitride film by sputtering under the following conditions: anitrogen (N₂=50 sccm) atmosphere; a pressure of 0.2 Pa; a power supplyof 12 kW; and a distance between the substrate and the target of 400 mm.The substrate temperature was set to room temperature. A tungsten filmwas formed to a thickness of 10 nm over the titanium nitride film underthe following conditions: an argon (Ar=100 sccm) atmosphere; a pressureof 2.0 Pa; a power supply of 4 kW; a distance between the substrate andthe target of 60 mm; and a substrate temperature of 230° C.

The stack of the 10-nm-thick titanium nitride film and the 10-nm-thicktungsten film was etched by ICP etching. As the etching, first etchingand second etching were performed. The first etching conditions were asfollows: a mixed atmosphere of chlorine, carbon tetrafluoride, andoxygen (Cl₂:CF₄:O₂=45 sccm:55 sccm:55 sccm); a power supply of 3000 W; abias power of 110 W; and a pressure of 0.67 Pa. The second etching wasperformed after the first etching under the following conditions: amixed atmosphere of boron trichloride and chlorine (BCl₃:Cl₂=150 sccm:50sccm); a power supply of 1000 W; a bias power of 50 W; and a pressure of0.67 Pa. Thus, a gate electrode was formed.

A stack including the gate insulating film and the second oxide film wasetched by ICP etching method using the gate electrode as a mask. Theetching conditions were as follows: a mixed atmosphere of methane andargon (CH₄:Ar=16 sccm:32 sccm); a power supply of 600 W; a bias power of100 W; a pressure of 1.0 Pa; and a substrate temperature of 70° C.

Next, a 20-nm-thick aluminum oxide film was formed over the gateelectrode by a sputtering method, and a 150-nm-thick silicon oxynitridefilm was formed thereover by a CVD method.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are cross-sectional STEM images of an example samplemade by the above-mentioned method. FIG. 10A is a cross-sectional viewin the channel length direction. FIG. 10B is a cross-sectional view inthe channel width direction.

As shown in FIG. 10B, IGZO(111), which is an oxide semiconductor film,has round end portions and a semicircle shape when seen in the crosssection in the channel width direction. It was found that this structureimproves the coverage with the second oxide film, the gate insulatingfilm, and the gate electrode, which were formed over the oxidesemiconductor film, and prevents occurrence of a shape defect such asdisconnection.

The channel length of the fabricated transistor was 68 nm and thechannel width was 34 nm.

Next, the drain current (I_(d): [A]) of the fabricated transistor wasmeasured. The drain voltage (V_(d): [V]) was set to 0.1 V or 1 V and thegate voltage (V_(g): [V]) was swept from −3 V to 3 V. FIG. 29 shows themeasurement results of the transistor. In FIG. 29, the solid linerepresents the measurement results at a drain voltage (V_(d): [V]) of 1V, the dotted line represents the measurement results at a drain voltage(V_(d): [V]) of 0.1 V, the horizontal axis represents the gate voltage(V_(g): [V]), and the vertical axis represents the drain current (I_(d):[A]). Note that “drain voltage (V_(d): [V])” refers to a potentialdifference between a drain and a source when the potential of the sourceis used as a reference potential, and “gate voltage (V_(g): [V])” refersto a potential difference between a gate and a source when the potentialof the source is used as a reference potential.

FIG. 29 shows that when the drain voltage (V_(d): [V]) of the transistorfabricated in this example is 1 V, the on-state current is 5.31 μA; ashift value is 0.13 A; the threshold voltage is 0.65 V; and theoff-state current is lower than or equal to the lower measurement limit.Note that the shift value is a value of the gate voltage at the timewhen the drain current is 1×10⁻¹² A. When the drain voltage is 0.1 V,the field-effect mobility is 20.0 cm²/Vs; and the S value is 113.1mV/dec.

The above results indicate that the transistor of this example hasexcellent electric characteristics.

Example 2

In this example, the temperature dependence of the transistor fabricatedin Example 1 was examined.

For the evaluation, the drain current (I_(d): [A]) and the field-effectmobility (μFE) were measured at −25° C., 50° C., and 150° C. The drainvoltage (V_(d): [V]) was set to 1 V and the gate voltage (V_(g): [V])was swept from −3 V to 3 V. FIG. 30 shows the measurement results of thetransistor. In FIG. 30, the horizontal axis represents gate voltage(V_(g): [V]), the vertical axis on the left side represents draincurrent (I_(d): [A]), and the vertical axis on the right side representsfield-effect mobility (μFE: cm²/Vs).

As shown in FIG. 30, in the transistor fabricated in Example 1, theon-state current and field-effect mobility are hardly changed bytemperature change.

FIG. 31 shows the temperature dependence of the threshold voltage.

It was found that the threshold voltage is hardly changed by temperaturechange.

The above results indicate that the transistor of this example hastemperature resistance.

Example 3

In this example, the reliability of the transistor fabricated in Example1 was evaluated.

For the evaluation, the drain current (I_(d): [A]) was measured underthe stress test conditions that the source voltage (Vs: [V]) and thedrain voltage (V_(d): [V]) were set to 0V and a gate voltage of −1.8 Vwas applied at 150° C. for one hour. FIG. 32A shows the measurementresults of the transistor. In FIG. 32A, the solid line represents theresult at a drain voltage (V_(d): [V]) of 1 V and the dotted linerepresents the result at a drain voltage of 0.1 V, the horizontal axisrepresents gate voltage (V_(g): [V]) and the vertical axis representsdrain current (I_(d): [A]).

Furthermore, the drain current (I_(d): [A]) was measured under thestress test conditions that the source voltage (Vs: [V]) and the gatevoltage (V_(d): [V]) were set to 0V and a drain voltage of 1.8 V wasapplied at 150° C. for one hour. FIG. 32B shows the measurement resultsof the transistor. In FIG. 32B, the solid line represents the result ata drain voltage (V_(d): [V]) of 1 V and the dotted line represents theresult at a drain voltage of 0.1 V, the horizontal axis represents gatevoltage (V_(g): [V]) and the vertical axis represents drain current(I_(d): [A]).

Note that in the graphs, the solid line represents the result before thestress test and the dotted line represents the result after the stresstest. As shown in FIGS. 32A and 32B, when the transistor fabricated inExample 1 has a drain voltage (V_(d): [V]) of 1 V, the amount of changein threshold voltage ΔV_(th) is small, which is 0.03 V in FIG. 32A and0.11 V in FIG. 32B.

The squares in FIG. 33 show the amount of change in threshold voltage inthe case where the source voltage (V_(s): [V]) and the gate voltage(V_(g): [V]) were set to 0V and a drain voltage (V_(d): [V]) of 1.8 Vwas applied at 125° C. for 87.6 hours (that corresponds to 0.01 year).

The diamond shapes in FIG. 33 show the amount of change in thresholdvoltage in the case where the source voltage (V_(s): [V]) and the drainvoltage (V_(d): [V]) were set to 0V and a gate voltage (V_(g): [V]) of−1.8 V was applied at 125° C. for 87.6 hours (that corresponds to 0.01year).

It can be seen from FIG. 33 that the amount of change in thresholdvoltage of the transistor fabricated in Example 1 is small even after0.01 year.

The above results indicate that the transistor of this example has highelectric stability.

Example 4

In this example, electric characteristics depending on the channel widthof the transistor fabricated in Example 1 were evaluated.

First, on-state currents (I_(on): [A]) of transistors with differentchannel widths were measured at a drain voltage (V_(d): [V]) of 1 V.FIG. 34A shows the measurement results of the transistors. In FIG. 34A,the horizontal axis represents channel length [nm] and the vertical axisrepresents on-state current (I_(on): [A]). Note that the diamond shapesin the graph show the results with a channel width of 40 nm; thetriangles, a channel width of 100 nm; and the squares, a channel widthof 500 nm.

FIG. 34A indicates that on-state current I_(on) is high even when thechannel width is small.

Next, field-effect mobilities of transistors with different channelwidths were measured at a drain voltage (V_(d): [V]) of 0.1 V. FIG. 34Bshows the measurement results of the transistors. In FIG. 34B, thehorizontal axis represents channel length [nm] and the vertical axisrepresents field-effect mobility (μFE: cm²Ns). Note that the diamondshapes in the graph show the results with a channel width of 40 nm; thetriangles, a channel width of 100 nm; and the squares, a channel widthof 500 nm.

FIG. 34B indicates that the transistor with a smaller channel width hashigher mobility.

Next, threshold voltages of the transistors with different channelwidths were measured at a drain voltage (V_(d): [V]) of 1 V. FIG. 34Cshows the measurement results of the transistors. In FIG. 34C, thehorizontal axis represents channel length [nm] and the vertical axisrepresents threshold voltage (V_(th): [V]). Note that the diamond shapesin the graph show the results with a channel width of 40 nm; thetriangles, a channel width of 100 nm; and the squares, a channel widthof 500 nm.

It can be seen from FIG. 34C that the threshold voltages hardly change.

Next, shift values of transistors with different channel widths weremeasured at a drain voltage (V_(d): [V]) of 1 V. Here, the shift valuerepresents the rising edge and is defined as the gate voltage (V_(s)[V]) with respect to a drain current (I_(d) [A]) of 1E-12A. FIG. 34Dshows the measurement results of the transistors. In FIG. 34D, thehorizontal axis represents channel length [nm] and the vertical axisrepresents shift value [V]. Note that the diamond shapes in the graphshow the results with a channel width of 40 nm; the triangles, a channelwidth of 100 nm; and the squares, a channel width of 500 nm.

FIG. 34D indicates that the transistor with a smaller channel width hasa smaller change in shift value.

Next, S values of transistors with different channel widths weremeasured at a drain voltage (V_(d): [V]) of 0.1 V. FIG. 35A shows themeasurement results of the transistors. In FIG. 35A, the horizontal axisrepresents channel length [nm] and the vertical axis represents S value[mV/dec.]. Note that the diamond shapes in the graph show the resultswith a channel width of 40 nm; the triangles, a channel width of 100 nm;and the squares, a channel width of 500 nm.

FIG. 35A indicates that the transistor with a smaller channel width hasa larger amount of decrease in S value.

Next, DIBL depending on the channel width was measured. DIBL wasobtained in such a manner that a threshold voltage at a drain voltage(V_(d): [V]) of 1 V is subtracted from a threshold voltage at a drainvoltage (V_(d): [V]) of 0.1 V, and the obtained value is divided by 0.9.FIG. 35B shows the measurement results of the transistors. In FIG. 35B,the horizontal axis represents channel length [nm] and the vertical axisrepresents DIBL value [V/V]. Note that the diamond shapes in the graphshow the results with a channel width of 40 nm; the triangles, a channelwidth of 100 mm; and the squares, a channel width of 500 nm.

FIG. 35B indicates that the transistor with a smaller channel width hasa lower DIBL.

The above results indicate that the electric characteristics of thetransistor of this example become better as the channel width issmaller.

Example 5

In this example, a transistor which has the same structure as thetransistor 460 illustrated in FIG. 6A was fabricated as an examplesample and the electric characteristics of the transistor was evaluated.

First, a method for fabricating the example sample is described.

Example 1 can be referred to for the method for fabricating the examplesample. A difference of the transistor of this example from thetransistor of Example 1 is only the first oxide film; the thickness ofthe first oxide film of the transistor of this example is 10 nm. Thefilm was formed by sputtering using an oxide target of In:Ga:Zn=1:3:4(atomic ratio) (IGZO(134)) under the following conditions: a mixedatmosphere of argon and oxygen (argon:oxygen=30 sccm:15 sccm); apressure of 0.4 Pa; a power supply of 0.5 kW; a distance between thesubstrate and the target of 60 mm; and a substrate temperature of 200°C.

In the transistor fabricated in this example, the channel length was setto 70 nm and the channel width was set to 40 nm.

Next, the drain current (I_(d): [A]) of the transistor was measuredunder the conditions that the drain voltage (V_(d): [V]) was set to 1 Vand the gate voltage (V_(g): [V]) was swept from −3 V to 3 V. Inaddition, the field-effect mobility (μFE) at a drain voltage (V_(d):[V]) of 0.1 V was measured. FIG. 11 shows the measurement results of thetransistor at a drain voltage (V_(d): [V]) of 1 V. In FIG. 11, thehorizontal axis represents gate voltage (V_(g): [V]), the vertical axison the left side represents drain current (I_(d): [A]), and the verticalaxis on the right side represents field-effect mobility (μFE: cm²/Vs).

As shown in FIG. 11, when the drain voltage (V_(d): [V]) of thetransistor fabricated in this example is 1 V, the on-state current is5.08 μA. In addition, when the drain voltage is 0.1 V, the field-effectmobility is 17.0 cm²/Vs.

The above results indicate that the transistor of this example hasexcellent electric characteristics.

Example 6

In this example, a transistor having the same structure as thetransistor 460 illustrated in FIG. 6A was fabricated as an examplesample, and electric characteristics depending on the channel width wasevaluated.

First, a method for fabricating the example sample is described.

Example 1 can be referred to for a method for fabricating the examplesample. Sample A is the transistor used in Example 1 (the first oxidefilm is a 10-nm-thick film of IGZO(132), and the oxide semiconductorfilm is a 40-nm-thick film of IGZO(111)). Sample B is the transistorused in Example 5 (the first oxide film is a 10-nm-thick film ofIGZO(134), and the oxide semiconductor film is a 40-nm-thick film ofIGZO(111)). Sample C was fabricated in which the first oxide film is a20-nm-thick film of IGZO(132), and the oxide semiconductor film is a15-nm-thick film of IGZO(111) and the other components are the same asthose in Sample A. The formation conditions for Sample C were asfollows. The first oxide film was formed by sputtering using an oxidetarget of In:Ga:Zn=1:3:2 (atomic ratio) (IGZO(132)) under the followingconditions: a mixed atmosphere of argon and oxygen (argon:oxygen=30sccm:15 sccm); a pressure of 0.4 Pa; a power supply of 0.5 kW; adistance between the substrate and the target of 60 mm; and a substratetemperature of 200° C. The oxide semiconductor film was formed bysputtering using an oxide target of In:Ga:Zn=1:1:1 (atomic ratio)(IGZO(111)) under the following conditions: a mixed atmosphere of argonand oxygen (argon:oxygen=30 sccm:15 sccm); a pressure of 0.4 Pa; a powersupply of 0.5 kW; a distance between the substrate and the target of 60mm; and a substrate temperature of 300° C.

In the transistor fabricated in this example, the channel length was setto 40 nm.

In the transistors, on-state currents (I_(on): [A]) depending on channelwidth W were measured at a drain voltage (V_(d): [V]) of 1 V. Note thatin this example, on-state current is a current measured at a voltage of(the threshold voltage +1 V). FIG. 12 and FIGS. 13A to 13C show themeasurement results of the transistors. In FIG. 12 and FIGS. 13A to 13C,the horizontal axis represents channel width (W: [nm]) and the verticalaxis on the left side represents on-state current (I_(on): [A]).

According to FIG. 12, in Sample C including the 15-nm-thick oxidesemiconductor film, the on-state current I_(on) decreases as the channelwidth W is smaller. On the other hand, in Samples A and B each includingthe 40-nm-thick oxide semiconductor film, the on-state current I_(on)does not decrease as the channel width W is smaller.

This is probably because a thick oxide semiconductor film increases anelectric field of the gate electrode in the horizontal direction in thecase of a small channel width, which improves on-state current I_(on).

FIG. 13A shows characteristics of Sample A. FIG. 13B showscharacteristics of Sample B. FIG. 13C shows characteristics of Sample C.FIGS. 13A to 13C reveal that as the channel width W is larger, theon-state current I_(on) increases in any of Samples A, B, and C.

Example 7

In this example, a transistor which has the same structure as thetransistor 460 illustrated in FIG. 6A was fabricated as an examplesample and the electric characteristics of the fabricated transistor wasevaluated.

First, a method for fabricating the example sample is described.

First, a silicon oxynitride (SiON) film to be a base insulating film wasformed to a thickness of 300 nm over a silicon substrate. The siliconoxynitride film was formed by sputtering under the following conditions:a mixed atmosphere of argon and oxygen (argon:oxygen=25 sccm:25 sccm); apressure of 0.4 Pa; a power supply (power supply output) of 5.0 kW; adistance between the silicon substrate and a target of 60 mm; and asubstrate temperature of 100° C.

A surface of the silicon oxide film was subjected to polishingtreatment, and a 20-nm-thick first oxide film and a 20-nm-thick oxidesemiconductor film were stacked. The first oxide film was formed bysputtering using an oxide target of In:Ga:Zn=1:3:4 (atomic ratio)(IGZO(134)) under the following conditions: a mixed atmosphere of argonand oxygen (argon:oxygen=40 sccm:5 sccm); a pressure of 0.4 Pa; a powersupply of 0.5 kW; a distance between the substrate and the target of 60mm; and a substrate temperature of 200° C. The oxide semiconductor filmwas formed by sputtering using an oxide target of In:Ga:Zn=1:1:1 (atomicratio) (IGZO(111)) under the following conditions: a mixed atmosphere ofargon and oxygen (argon:oxygen=30 sccm:15 sccm); a pressure of 0.4 Pa; apower supply of 0.5 kW; a distance between the substrate and the targetof 60 mm; and a substrate temperature of 300° C. Note that the firstoxide film and the oxide semiconductor film were continuously formedwithout exposure to the air.

Next, heat treatment was performed. The heat treatment was performedunder a nitrogen atmosphere at 450° C. for one hour, and then performedunder an oxygen atmosphere at 450° C. for one hour.

Next, a tungsten film to be a source electrode and a drain electrode wasformed to a thickness of 150 nm over the oxide semiconductor film. Thefilm was formed by sputtering using a tungsten target under thefollowing conditions: an argon (80 sccm) atmosphere; a pressure of 0.8Pa; a power supply (power supply output) of 1.0 kW; a distance betweenthe silicon substrate and the target of 60 mm; and a substratetemperature of 230° C.

Then, a resist mask was formed over the tungsten film and etching wasperformed using an ICP etching method. As the etching, first etching,second etching, and third etching were performed. The first etchingconditions were as follows: a mixed atmosphere of chlorine, carbontetrafluoride, and oxygen (Cl₂:CF₄:O₂=45 sccm:55 sccm:55 sccm)atmosphere; a power supply of 3000 W; a bias power of 110 W; and apressure of 0.67 Pa. Then, the second etching conditions were asfollows: an oxygen (O₂=100 scorn) atmosphere; a power supply of 2000 W;a bias power of 0 W; and a pressure of 3.0 Pa. The third etchingconditions were as follows: a mixed atmosphere of chlorine, carbontetrafluoride, and oxygen (Cl₂:CF₄:O₂=45 sccm:55 sccm:55 sccm); a powersupply of 3000 W; a bias power of 110 W; and a pressure of 0.67 Pa.Thus, the source electrode and the drain electrode were formed.

Next, a resist mask was formed over the oxide semiconductor film, andthe first oxide film and the oxide semiconductor film were processedinto an island shape by ICP etching under the following conditions: aboron trichloride (BCl₃=80 sccm) atmosphere; a power supply of 450 W; abias power of 100 W; a pressure of 1.2 Pa; and a substrate temperatureof 70° C.

Next, a second oxide film was formed to a thickness of 5 nm over theoxide semiconductor film, the source electrode, and the drain electrode.The film was formed by sputtering using an oxide target ofIn:Ga:Zn=1:3:2 (atomic ratio) under the following conditions: a mixedatmosphere of argon and oxygen (argon:oxygen=30 sccm:15 sccm); apressure of 0.4 Pa; a power supply of 0.5 kW; a distance between thesubstrate and the target of 60 mm; and a substrate temperature of 200°C.

Next, a silicon oxynitride film to be a gate insulating film was formedto a thickness of 20 nm by a CVD method.

306

A tantalum nitride film was formed to a thickness of 30 nm over thesilicon oxynitride film by sputtering under the following conditions: amixed atmosphere of tantalum nitride and argon (TaN=50 sccm:10 sccm); apressure of 0.6 Pa; a power supply of 1 kW; and a distance between thesubstrate and the target of 60 mm. The substrate temperature was set toroom temperature. A tungsten film was formed to a thickness of 135 nmover the titanium nitride film under the following conditions: an argon(Ar=100 sccm) atmosphere; a pressure of 2.0 Pa; a power supply of 4 kW;a distance between the substrate and the target of 60 mm; and asubstrate temperature of 230° C.

The stack of the 30-nm-thick tantalum nitride film and the 135-nm-thicktungsten film was etched by ICP etching. As the etching, first etchingand second etching were performed. The first etching conditions were asfollows: a mixed atmosphere of chlorine, carbon tetrafluoride, andoxygen (Cl₂:CF₄:O₂=45 sccm:55 sccm:55 sccm); a power supply of 3000 W; abias power of 110 W; and a pressure of 0.67 Pa. The second etching wasperformed after the first etching under the following conditions: achlorine (Cl₂=100 sccm) atmosphere; a power supply of 1000 W; a biaspower of 50 W; and a pressure of 0.67 Pa. Thus, a gate electrode wasformed.

A stack including the gate insulating film and the second oxide film wasetched by ICP etching. The etching conditions were as follows: a borontrichloride (BCl₃=80 sccm) atmosphere; a power supply of 450 W; a biaspower of 100 W; a pressure of 1.2 Pa; and a substrate temperature of 70°C.

Next, a 140-nm-thick aluminum oxide film was formed over the gateelectrode by a sputtering method, and a 300-nm-thick silicon oxynitridefilm was formed thereover by a CVD method.

312

The channel length was 0.48 μm and the channel width was 0.5 μm.

316

Next, the temperature dependence of the fabricated transistor wasexamined.

For the evaluation, the drain current (I_(d): [A]) per a channel widthof 1 μm was measured at 25° C., 50° C., 100° C., 150° C., 200° C., and250° C. The drain voltage (V_(d): [V]) was set to 1 V and the gatevoltage (V_(g): [V]) was swept from −3 V to 3 V. FIG. 40A shows themeasurement results of the transistor. In FIG. 40A, the horizontal axisrepresents gate voltage (V_(g): [V]) and the vertical axis representsdrain current (I_(d): [A]). Note that the arrow in FIG. 40A indicate arise in temperature.

As shown in FIG. 40A, in the transistor fabricated in this example, theon-state current is hardly changed by temperature change.

FIGS. 40B and 40C show the temperature dependence of the thresholdvoltage and the S value.

It was found that the threshold voltage and the S value are hardlychanged by temperature change.

The above results indicate that the transistor of this example hastemperature resistance.

Example 8

In this example, differences in electric characteristics depending onthe shape of the oxide semiconductor film were examined.

First, structures of transistors are described.

FIG. 25A is a cross-sectional view in the channel width direction of atransistor in which top end portions of an oxide semiconductor film aresharp (hereinafter, such a transistor is also referred to as atransistor with a square structure). In FIG. 25A, W represents a channelwidth and the oxide semiconductor film has a thickness of W/2.

FIG. 25B is a cross-sectional view in the channel width direction of atransistor in which top end portions of an oxide semiconductor film areround (hereinafter, such a transistor is also referred to as atransistor with a semicircle structure), which is one embodiment of thepresent invention. In FIG. 25B, r represents curvature radius and r=W/2.

The effective channel width of the transistor with a square structure is2W (a sum of side surfaces and a top surface). The effective channelwidth of the transistor with a semicircle structure is 1.57W (acircumference of a semicircle, πr=πW/2=1.57W). The effective channelwidth W ratio of the transistor with a semicircle structure to thetransistor with a square structure is 0.785.

FIG. 26 is a cross-sectional view in the channel length direction of thetransistors illustrated in FIGS. 25A and 25B. In FIG. 26, L representschannel length.

Next, calculation conditions are described.

The calculation was performed under conditions shown in Table 1, usingSentaurus Device (produced by Synopsys, Inc.).

TABLE 1 Size Channel length L 40 nm Channel width W 40 nm GI Delectricconstant 4.1 Thickness 10 nm OS Composition ratio IGZO (111) Electronaffinity 4.6 eV Eg 3.2 eV Delectric constant 15 Donor density in achannel portion 6.60E−9 cm⁻³ Donor density under source electrode5.00E+18 cm⁻³ and drain electrodes Electron mobility 15 cm²/Vs Holemobility 0.01 cm³/Vs Nc 5.00E+18 cm⁻³ Nv 5.00E+18 cm⁻³ Thickness 20 nmBase Delectric constant 4.1 insulating Thickness 400 nm film GE Workfunction 5 eV S/D Work function 4.6 eV

FIG. 27 shows I_(d)-V_(g) characteristics and mobility at a drainvoltage (V_(d): [V]) of 0.1 V. FIG. 28 shows I_(d)-V_(g) characteristicsand mobility at a drain voltage (V_(d): [V]) of 1 V.

In FIG. 27 and FIG. 28, the rising voltage (which is one of theI_(d)-V_(g) characteristics) of the transistor with a semicirclestructure is sharper than that of the transistor with a squarestructure. In addition, the mobility, which is calculated using theeffective channel width W, of the transistor with a semicircle structureis higher than that of the transistor with a square structure.

Table 2 compares values of the characteristics obtained from FIG. 27 andFIG. 28.

TABLE 2 Square structure Semicircle structure Threshold voltage (Vd = 1)−0.518 V −0.443 V On-state current 18.4 μA 16.4 μA (Vd = 1, Vg =Threshold voltage + 3 V) S value (Vd = 0.1) 198 mV/dec 177 mV/decMobility (Vd = 0.1) 14.3 cm²/Vs 15.6 cm²/Vs

It is found from Table 2 that the transistor with a semicircle structureis superior to the transistor with a square structure in characteristicsexcept for on-state current. The on-state current ratio of thetransistor with a semicircle structure to the transistor with a squarestructure is 0.892, which is larger than the effective channel width Wratio of 0.785. That is, electrons are induced more easily in a channelportion of the transistor with a semicircle structure than in a channelportion of the transistor with a square structure.

The relation between effective channel width W and on-state current isprobably one of reasons why electrons are induced more easily in thechannel portion of the transistor with a semicircle structure than inthe channel portion of the transistor with a square structure. Theon-state current is thought to be proportional to capacitance of thegate insulating film (hereinafter, also referred to as GI capacitance);however, the GI capacitance of the transistor with a semicirclestructure is not represented by a parallel-plate capacitor, and isapproximately represented by the following formula.

$\begin{matrix}{C_{r} = {ɛ\frac{\pi}{\ln\left( {1 + \frac{t_{GI}}{t_{OS}}} \right)}}} & \left\lbrack {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 1} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In Formula 1, C_(r) represents GI capacitance per unit channel length inthe transistor with a semicircle structure, ε represents dielectricconstant of the gate insulating film, t_(GI) represents a thickness ofthe gate insulating film, and t_(OS) represents a thickness of the oxidesemiconductor film.

In the transistor with a semicircle structure, the GI capacitance is notproportional to the effective channel width W(πt_(OS)); the on-statecurrent cannot be obtained using the effective channel width W ratio.

On the other hand, the GI capacitance per unit channel length in thetransistor with a square structure is approximately represented by thefollowing formula.

$\begin{matrix}{C_{s} = {ɛ\frac{4t_{OS}}{t_{GI}}}} & \left\lbrack {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 2} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

The ratio in GI capacitance is necessarily used to obtain on-statecurrent. The GI capacitance ratio of the transistor with a semicirclestructure (obtained from Formula 1) to the transistor with a squarestructure (obtained from Formula 2), C_(r)/Cs, is approximately 0.968,which is larger than the effective channel width W ratio of 0.785. Thisestimate is an approximate value and does not agree with the ratioobtained by calculation, but from the estimate, it can be said thatelectrons are induced more easily in the channel portion of thetransistor with a semicircle structure than in the channel portion ofthe transistor with a square structure.

Reference Example

In this reference example, a fact that a transistor using a CAAC-OS filmhas an adequate resistance to a short-channel effect is described.

The characteristic length is widely used as an indicator of resistanceto a short-channel effect. The characteristic length is an indicator ofcurving of potential in a channel portion. As the characteristic lengthis shorter, the potential rises more sharply, which means that theresistance to a short-channel effect is high.

The transistor using a CAAC-OS film is an accumulation-type transistor.A reason why the transistor using a CAAC-OS film is resistant to ashort-channel effect is probably that the characteristic length of theaccumulation-type transistor is shorter than that of a transistor inwhich a channel is formed in an inversion-type transistor.

The structure of the transistor is described in detail using a schematicview of FIG. 36. Note that ε_(S) represents dielectric constant of thesemiconductor film, ε_(OX) represents dielectric constant of the gateinsulating film, t_(S) represents a thickness of the semiconductor film,and t_(OX) represents a thickness of the gate insulating film.

First, the potential in a channel portion of an n-channel inversion-typetransistor is obtained by solving the Poisson's equation. In FIG. 36,Gauss's law is applied to a diagonally shaded narrow zone x to (x+dx),which is a region to be a channel portion in the semiconductor film,deriving the following formula.

$\begin{matrix}{{{{- ɛ_{S}}{t_{S}\left\lbrack {{- \frac{d\;{\phi(x)}}{dx}} + \frac{d\;{\phi\left( {x + {dx}} \right)}}{dx}} \right\rbrack}} - {ɛ_{OX}\frac{V_{G} - V_{FB} - {\phi(x)}}{t_{OX}}{dx}}} = {{- {eN}_{A}}t_{S}{dx}}} & \left\lbrack {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 3} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In Formula 3, ϕ(x) represents a potential (a surface potential) in theposition x, ϕ(x+dx) represents a potential (a surface potential) in theposition x+dx, V_(G) represents gate voltage, V_(FB) represents a flatband voltage, e represents elementary charge, and N_(A) representsacceptor density.

Formula 3 is arranged to give the following formula.

$\begin{matrix}{{\frac{d^{2}{\phi(x)}}{{dx}^{2}} + {\frac{ɛ_{OX}}{ɛ_{S}t_{S}t_{OX}}\left\lbrack {V_{G} - V_{FB} - {\phi(x)} - \frac{{eN}_{A}t_{S}t_{OX}}{ɛ_{OX}}} \right\rbrack}} = 0} & \left\lbrack {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 4} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

By substituting Formula 5 into Formula 4, Formula 6 is obtained.

$\begin{matrix}{\frac{1}{l^{2}} = \frac{ɛ_{OX}}{ɛ_{S}t_{S}t_{OX}}} & \left\lbrack {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 5} \right\rbrack \\{{\frac{d^{2}{\phi(x)}}{{dx}^{2}} - {\frac{1}{l^{2}}{\phi(x)}} + {\frac{1}{l^{2}}\left( {V_{G} - V_{FB} - \frac{{eN}_{A}t_{S}t_{OX}}{ɛ_{OX}}} \right)}} = 0} & \left\lbrack {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 6} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

The general solution of Formula 6 is obtained using Formula 7, andFormula 8 is obtained.

$\begin{matrix}{V_{L} = {V_{G} - V_{FB} - \frac{{eN}_{A}t_{S}t_{OX}}{ɛ_{OX}}}} & \left\lbrack {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 7} \right\rbrack \\{{\phi(x)} = {{A\;{\exp\left( {x/l} \right)}} + {B\;{\exp\left( {{- x}/l} \right)}} + V_{L}}} & \left\lbrack {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 8} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

The potential ϕ(x) satisfies the following boundary conditions.

$\begin{matrix}\left\{ \begin{matrix}{{\phi(0)} = V_{bi}} \\{{\phi(L)} = {V_{bi} + V_{DS}}}\end{matrix} \right. & \left\lbrack {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 9} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

The coefficients A and B satisfying the above boundary conditions areobtained and arranged to give the special solution of a differentialequation. The potential ϕ(x) is as follows.

$\begin{matrix}{{\phi(x)} = {V_{L} + {\frac{1}{\sinh\left( \frac{L}{l} \right)}{\quad\left\lbrack {{\left( {V_{bi} - V_{DS} - V_{L}} \right){\sinh\left( \frac{x}{l} \right)}} + {\left( {V_{bi} - V_{L}} \right){\sinh\left( \frac{L - x}{l} \right)}}} \right\rbrack}}}} & \left\lbrack {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 10} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

By substituting x=0 or x=L into the formula, it is easily confirmed thatFormula 10 satisfies the boundary conditions in Formula 9.

In Formula 10, l represents the characteristic length that is theindicator of curving of potential. As the characteristic length isshorter, the potential of a channel portion in an FET changes moresharply.

Therefore, the characteristic length of the inversion-type transistor isas follows.

$\begin{matrix}{\frac{1}{l^{2}} = \frac{ɛ_{OX}}{ɛ_{S}t_{S}t_{OX}}} & \left\lbrack {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 11} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

Next, an accumulation-type transistor (that includes a transistor usinga CAAC-OS film in its category) is considered in a similar manner, andthe characteristic lengths of the accumulation-type transistor and theinversion-type transistor are compared. As described above, Gauss's lawis applied to a narrow zone x to (x+dx), which is a region to be achannel portion in the semiconductor film, deriving the followingformula.

$\begin{matrix}{{{{- ɛ_{S}}{t_{S}\left\lbrack {{- \frac{d\;{\phi(x)}}{dx}} + \frac{d\;{\phi\left( {x + {dx}} \right)}}{dx}} \right\rbrack}} - {ɛ_{OX}\frac{V_{G} - V_{FB} - {\phi(x)}}{t_{OX}}{dx}}} = {{- {en}_{i}}{\exp\left( \frac{e\left( {{\phi(x)} - \phi_{F}} \right)}{k_{B}T} \right)}t_{S}{dx}}} & \left\lbrack {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 12} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In Formula 12, n_(i) represents intrinsic carrier density, k_(B)represents Boltzmann constant, and φ_(F) represents Fermi potential.

Formula 12 is arranged to give the following formula.

$\begin{matrix}{{\frac{d^{2}{\phi(x)}}{{dx}^{2}} + {\frac{1}{l^{2}}\left\lbrack {V_{G} - V_{FB} - {\phi(x)}} \right\rbrack}} = {\frac{e}{ɛ_{S}}n_{i}{\exp\left( \frac{e\left( {{\phi(x)} - \phi_{F}} \right)}{k_{B}T} \right)}}} & \left\lbrack {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 13} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

Note that l equals the characteristic length of the inversion-typetransistor.

The right side of Formula 13 is developed using an approximation formulagiven below (Formula 14) to give Formula 15.

$\begin{matrix}{{{x = {x_{1} + x^{\prime}}},{{\phi(x)} = {\phi_{1} + {\Delta\;{\phi\left( x^{\prime} \right)}\left( {\phi_{1} = {\phi\left( x_{1} \right)}} \right)}}}}\left( {{{Note}\mspace{14mu}{that}\mspace{14mu}\phi_{1}} = {{\phi\left( x_{1} \right)}.}} \right)} & \left\lbrack {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 14} \right\rbrack \\{{\frac{d^{2}{{\Delta\phi}\left( x^{\prime} \right)}}{{dx}^{\prime 2}} + {\frac{1}{l^{2}}\left\lbrack {V_{G} - V_{FB} - \phi_{1} - {\Delta\;{\phi\left( x^{\prime} \right)}}} \right\rbrack}} = {{\frac{e}{ɛ_{S}}n_{i}{\exp\left( \frac{e\left( {\phi_{1} - \phi_{F}} \right)}{k_{B}T} \right)}{\exp\left( \frac{e\;\Delta\;{\phi\left( x^{\prime} \right)}}{k_{B}T} \right)}} = {{\frac{e}{ɛ_{S}}n_{1}{\exp\left( \frac{e\;\Delta\;{\phi\left( x^{\prime} \right)}}{k_{B}T} \right)}} \approx {\frac{e}{ɛ_{S}}{n_{1}\left\lbrack {1 + \frac{e\;\Delta\;{\phi\left( x^{\prime} \right)}}{k_{B}T}} \right\rbrack}}}}} & \left\lbrack {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 15} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In Formula 15, n₁ represents carrier density in the position x₁. Bysubstituting Formula 16 and Formula 17 into Formula 15 to give Formula18.

$\begin{matrix}{\frac{1}{\lambda_{1}^{2}} = \frac{e^{2}n_{1}}{ɛ_{S}k_{B}T}} & \left\lbrack {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 16} \right\rbrack \\{n_{1} = {n_{i}{\exp\left( \frac{e\left( {\phi_{1} - \phi_{F}} \right)}{k_{B}T} \right)}}} & \left\lbrack {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 17} \right\rbrack \\{{\frac{d^{2}{{\Delta\phi}\left( x^{\prime} \right)}}{{dx}^{\prime 2}} - {\left( {\frac{1}{l^{2}} + \frac{1}{\lambda_{1}^{2}}} \right)\Delta\;{\phi\left( x^{\prime} \right)}} + {\frac{1}{l^{2}}\left( {V_{G} - V_{FB} - \phi_{1}} \right)} - {\frac{e}{ɛ_{S}}n_{1}}} = 0} & \left\lbrack {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 18} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

Formula 18 is arranged using Formula 19 to give Formula 20.

$\begin{matrix}{\frac{1}{l^{\prime 2}} = {\frac{1}{l^{2}} + \frac{1}{\lambda_{1}^{2}}}} & \left\lbrack {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 19} \right\rbrack \\{{\frac{d^{2}{{\Delta\phi}\left( x^{\prime} \right)}}{{dx}^{\prime 2}} - {\frac{1}{l^{\prime 2}}\Delta\;{\phi\left( x^{\prime} \right)}} + {\frac{1}{l^{\prime 2}}\left\lbrack {{\frac{l^{\prime 2}}{l^{2}}\left( {V_{G} - V_{FB} - \phi_{1}} \right)} - {l^{\prime 2}\frac{e}{ɛ_{S}}n_{1}}} \right\rbrack}} = 0} & \left\lbrack {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 20} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

Formula 20 is effective only in the vicinity of the point x₁.

Consequently, characteristic length of the accumulation-type transistorin the vicinity of the point x₁ is as follows.

$\begin{matrix}{\frac{1}{l^{\prime 2}} = {\frac{ɛ_{OX}}{ɛ_{S}t_{S}t_{OX}} + \frac{e^{2}n_{1}}{ɛ_{S}k_{B}T}}} & \left\lbrack {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 21} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

To compare the inversion-type transistor and the accumulation-typetransistor, the characteristic length l of the inversion-type transistoris expressed by l(inv), and the characteristic length l′ of theaccumulation-type transistor is expressed by l(acc). The characteristiclengths are compared.

$\begin{matrix}\left\{ \begin{matrix}{\frac{1}{{l({inv})}^{2}} = \frac{ɛ_{OX}}{ɛ_{S}t_{S}t_{OX}}} \\{\frac{1}{{l({acc})}^{2}} = {\frac{ɛ_{OX}}{ɛ_{S}t_{S}t_{OX}} + \frac{e^{2}n_{1}}{ɛ_{S}k_{B}T}}}\end{matrix} \right. & \left\lbrack {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 22} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

According to Formula 22, it is shown that l(inv)>l(acc).

Although an obtained value of the characteristic length l(acc) of theaccumulation-type transistor is varied depending on the point x₁, thecharacteristic length of the accumulation-type transistor is shorterthan that of the inversion-type transistor in any case. In addition,electron density is increased near a source and a drain, so that apotential rises more sharply.

As described above, it is found that the characteristic length of theaccumulation-type transistor is shorter than that of the inversion-typetransistor.

EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE

110: substrate, 120: base insulating film, 137: channel region, 138:channel region, 160: gate insulating film, 170: gate electrode, 210:substrate, 220: base insulating film, 230: oxide semiconductor film,260: gate insulating film, 270: gate electrode, 400: substrate, 402:base insulating film, 403 a: the first oxide film 403 b: oxidesemiconductor film, 403 c: the second oxide film, 404: multilayer film,404 a: the first oxide film, 404 b: oxide semiconductor film, 404 c: thesecond oxide film, 405 a: conductive film, 405 b: conductive film, 406a: source electrode, 406 b: drain electrode, 407: insulating film, 408:gate insulating film, 409: conductive film, 410: gate electrode, 412:oxide insulating film, 414: barrier film, 416: sidewall insulating film,418: sidewall insulating film, 419 a: electrode, 419 b: electrode, 420a: wiring, 420 b: wiring, 435: boundary, 450: transistor, 460:transistor, 470: transistor, 550: transistor, 560: transistor, 570:transistor, 580: transistor, 602: photodiode, 640: transistor, 656:transistor, 658: photodiode reset signal, 659: gate signal line, 672:photosensor reference signal line, 700: memory element, 701: circuit,702: circuit, 703: switch, 704: switch, 706: logic element, 707:capacitor, 708: capacitor, 709: transistor, 710: transistor, 713:transistor, 714: transistor, 720: circuit, 1189: ROM interface, 1190:substrate, 1191: ALU, 1192: ALU controller, 1193: instruction decoder,1194: interrupt controller, 1195: timing controller, 1196: register,1197: register controller, 1198: bus interface, 1199: ROM, 2200:transistor, 2201: insulating film, 2202: wiring, 2203: plug, 2204:insulating film, 2205: wiring, 2206: wiring, 3001: wiring, 3002: wiring,3003: wiring, 3004: wiring, 3005: wiring, 3200: transistor, 3300:transistor, 3400: capacitor, 8000: television device, 8001: housing,8002: display portion, 8003: speaker portion, 8004: CPU, 8100: alarmdevice, 8101: microcomputer, 8102: sensor portion, 8200: indoor unit,8201: housing, 8202: air outlet, 8203: CPU, 8204: outdoor unit, 8300:electric refrigerator-freezer, 8301: housing, 8302: door for arefrigerator, 8303: door for a freezer, 8304: CPU, 9700: electric car,9701: secondary battery, 9702: circuit, 9703: driving device, 9704:treatment device

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application serial no.2013-106284 filed with Japan Patent Office on May 20, 2013, JapanesePatent Application serial no. 2013-147191 filed with Japan Patent Officeon Jul. 16, 2013, Japanese Patent Application serial no. 2013-196300filed with Japan Patent Office on Sep. 23, 2013, and Japanese PatentApplication serial no. 2014-087067 filed with Japan Patent Office onApr. 21, 2014, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated byreference.

What is claimed is:
 1. A semiconductor device comprising: a baseinsulating film; an oxide semiconductor film over the base insulatingfilm; a source electrode over the oxide semiconductor film, the sourceelectrode being in contact with the oxide semiconductor film; a drainelectrode over the oxide semiconductor film, the drain electrode beingin contact with the oxide semiconductor film; a first oxide film overthe oxide semiconductor film, the source electrode, and the drainelectrode; a gate insulating film over the first oxide film; and a gateelectrode over the gate insulating film, the gate electrode overlappingthe oxide semiconductor film, wherein the first oxide film comprises anoxide semiconductor, wherein a portion of a bottom surface of the gateelectrode is lower than a bottom surface of the oxide semiconductorfilm, wherein a part of the first oxide film is over and in contact withthe base insulating film, and wherein a whole of the gate electrode isover the base insulating film.
 2. The semiconductor device according toclaim 1, wherein an end portion of a top surface of the oxidesemiconductor film is curved when seen in a cross-sectional view, andwherein the cross-sectional view is taken along a channel widthdirection.
 3. The semiconductor device according to claim 2, wherein thetop surface of the oxide semiconductor film includes a flat portion. 4.The semiconductor device according to claim 3, wherein a curvatureradius of the end portion of the top surface of the oxide semiconductorfilm when seen in the cross-sectional view is greater than 0 and lessthan or equal to a half of a channel width.
 5. The semiconductor deviceaccording to claim 2, wherein the end portion of the top surface of theoxide semiconductor film when seen in the cross-sectional view has acurvature radius of greater than 0 and less than or equal to a half of achannel width.
 6. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, whereina side surface of the first oxide film is aligned with a side surface ofthe gate insulating film, and wherein the side surface of the gateinsulating film is aligned with a side surface of the gate electrode. 7.The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein conduction bandminimum of the first oxide film is closer to a vacuum level thanconduction band minimum of the oxide semiconductor film by 0.05 eV ormore and 2 eV or less.
 8. The semiconductor device according to claim 1,further comprising a second oxide film between the base insulating filmand the oxide semiconductor film, wherein a portion of a bottom surfaceof the first oxide film is lower than a bottom surface of the secondoxide film.
 9. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, whereineach of the oxide semiconductor film and the first oxide film comprisesindium, zinc, and M (M is a metal such as Al, Ti, Ga, Ge, Y, Zr, Sn, La,Ce, or Hf).
 10. A semiconductor device comprising: a base insulatingfilm; an oxide semiconductor film over the base insulating film; asource electrode over the oxide semiconductor film, the source electrodebeing in contact with the oxide semiconductor film; a drain electrodeover the oxide semiconductor film, the drain electrode being in contactwith the oxide semiconductor film; a first oxide film over the oxidesemiconductor film, the source electrode, and the drain electrode; agate insulating film over the first oxide film; a gate electrode overthe gate insulating film, the gate electrode overlapping the oxidesemiconductor film; and a barrier film over the gate electrode, thebarrier film being in contact with the base insulating film, wherein thefirst oxide film comprises an oxide semiconductor, wherein a portion ofa bottom surface of the gate electrode is lower than a bottom surface ofthe oxide semiconductor film, wherein a part of the first oxide film isover the base insulating film, and wherein a whole of the gate electrodeis over the base insulating film.
 11. The semiconductor device accordingto claim 10, wherein an end portion of a top surface of the oxidesemiconductor film is curved when seen in a cross-sectional view, andwherein the cross-sectional view is taken along a channel widthdirection.
 12. The semiconductor device according to claim 11, whereinthe top surface of the oxide semiconductor film includes a flat portion.13. The semiconductor device according to claim 12, wherein a curvatureradius of the end portion of the top surface of the oxide semiconductorfilm when seen in the cross-sectional view is greater than 0 and lessthan or equal to a half of a channel width.
 14. The semiconductor deviceaccording to claim 11, wherein the end portion of the top surface of theoxide semiconductor film when seen in the cross-sectional view has acurvature radius of greater than 0 and less than or equal to a half of achannel width.
 15. The semiconductor device according to claim 10,wherein a side surface of the first oxide film is aligned with a sidesurface of the gate insulating film, and wherein the side surface of thegate insulating film is aligned with a side surface of the gateelectrode.
 16. The semiconductor device according to claim 10, whereinconduction band minimum of the first oxide film is closer to a vacuumlevel than conduction band minimum of the oxide semiconductor film by0.05 eV or more and 2 eV or less.
 17. The semiconductor device accordingto claim 10, further comprising a first sidewall insulating film on sidesurfaces of the oxide semiconductor film, the source electrode, and thedrain electrode, with the barrier film between the first sidewallinsulating film and the side surfaces.
 18. The semiconductor deviceaccording to claim 10, further comprising a second sidewall insulatingfilm on side surfaces of the first oxide film, the gate insulating film,and the gate electrode, with the barrier film between the secondsidewall insulating film and the side surfaces.
 19. The semiconductordevice according to claim 10, further comprising a second oxide filmbetween the base insulating film and the oxide semiconductor film,wherein a portion of a bottom surface of the first oxide film is lowerthan a bottom surface of the second oxide film.
 20. The semiconductordevice according to claim 10, wherein each of the oxide semiconductorfilm and the first oxide film comprises indium, zinc, and M (M is ametal such as Al, Ti, Ga, Ge, Y, Zr, Sn, La, Ce, or Hf).
 21. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 10, wherein the part of thefirst oxide film is in contact with the base insulating film.
 22. Asemiconductor device comprising: a base insulating film; an oxidesemiconductor film over the base insulating film; a source electrodeover the oxide semiconductor film, the source electrode being in contactwith the oxide semiconductor film; a drain electrode over the oxidesemiconductor film, the drain electrode being in contact with the oxidesemiconductor film; a first oxide film over the oxide semiconductorfilm, the source electrode, and the drain electrode; a second oxide filmbetween the base insulating film and the oxide semiconductor film; agate insulating film over the first oxide film; and a gate electrodeover the gate insulating film, the gate electrode overlapping the oxidesemiconductor film, wherein the first oxide film comprises an oxidesemiconductor, wherein a portion of a bottom surface of the gateelectrode is lower than a bottom surface of the oxide semiconductorfilm, wherein a portion of a bottom surface of the first oxide film islower than a bottom surface of the second oxide film, wherein a part ofthe first oxide film is over the base insulating film, and wherein awhole of the gate electrode is over the base insulating film.
 23. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 22, wherein an end portion of atop surface of the oxide semiconductor film is curved when seen in across-sectional view, and wherein the cross-sectional view is takenalong a channel width direction.
 24. The semiconductor device accordingto claim 23, wherein the end portion of the top surface of the oxidesemiconductor film when seen in the cross-sectional view has a curvatureradius of greater than 0 and less than or equal to a half of a channelwidth.